Rainy Day Games with The Flock
by Fangalicous08
Summary: What does the flock do when there's nothing TO do? Read this and find out. R&R Please.
1. One Word Story

**OMPJ! It's been so LONG since I updated this. I'm SO sorry for keeping you guys waiting. **

**Iggy: She's been feeling really guilty. **

*****EDIT*****

**Okay, you all may have noticed that I cut out the original first three chapters, well, I'm going to repost those in my MaxRide Oneshots, because really, that's all they were...but, this is where hte real story begins now....so, yeah. And, so, you can just ignore the underlined Author's note. This is the only one that matters, but I don't feel like deleting the already written one. **

**Me: I hate not updating. I mean, I have, like, 6 stories right now to write and I have writers block on pretty much all of them. Except this one right now, but this one is starting to get a plot. It just started forming. don't know when, don't know how. I think Iggy did it. **

**Iggy: Yes, I gave your story a plot. **

**Me: Well, I have more to ask of you all in the bottom A/N, but for now, enjoy the next chapter!!**

* * *

"I think I'm going to go insane." Ella stated on our fouth rainy day. In. A. Row. Whoever thinks it doesn't rain much in Arizona, you're dead wrong. As I just said, it's been raining for four days straight here in our little town of Mesa. I hate rain.

"Hey, you all want to play one word story?" Fang asked. Since when does Fang want to play a game? Since the rain has left it's victims partially insane.

"Sure," Ella and I said at the same time, causing us to 'jinx' each other several times in unison until Fang got fed up and yelled at us to 'shut up and play the gosh derned game already!'.

"Who's starting?" Ella asked. It was just me, her and Fang. Iggy and the kids were in the kitchen, squelching they're boredom by making fruit snacks.

"Me!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat.

"Hmm, why not Max?" Fang suggested.

"Okay, Max can start. So...start." Ella said. I sat back down beside Fang and tapped my chin, searching for the right word.

"Mini." I finally said.

"Tomatoes." Fang said after me, and the rest of the game went on like this:

Ella: Sing

Me: Why

Fang: Not

Ella: By

Me: A

Fang: Singer

Ella: Named

Me: Something

Fang: That

Ella: Starts

Me: With

Fang: A

Ella: H

Me: HILARY DUFF!

Ella: You lose, round two, Fang starts.

Fang: People

Ella: Suffer

Me: From

Fang: Paramore

Ella: Infections

Max: In

Fang: Their

Ella: Teeth

Max: Caused

Fang: By

Ella: Cupcakes

Max: From

Fang: Saskatchewan

Ella: India

Max: Period.

Fang: What? That doesn't-

Ella: Fang, it's one word _story, _not sentence. You messed us up! She was fine!

Max: Yeah.

Fang: I'm bored again.

Fang stood up, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"I have a good idea." I said slyly.

"Max, you have an evil, 'Fang-will-suffer', look in your eye." Fang informed me. "What are you planning?"

"Hey, El, go get Nudge and Angel. They may enjoy this next game." I told her. "It's called, Makeover the Emo Kid." Fang's eyes widened and Ella ran to the kitchen, giggling the whole way.

"Max...you wouldn't." Fang said.

"Yes I would." I countered. I grabbed a lock of his hair and twirled it in my fingers, then called to Ella in the kitchen, "Bring back some scissors, too!"

Fang tried to make a break for it, but I had a death lock on his arm. He'd either leave without an arm, or stay and get made over. I am so evil.

* * *

**Hehe, yes, Max, yes you are. So, see what I mean, I think it's actually starting to gain a plot. **

**Anyway, so the other things I was talking about above, number one, if any of you read Ouija Board 2: Revenge also by me, got any ideas on the next chapter? I'm kind of stuck. ****2.) If you read Random Ramblings(which I doubt any of you did, it was the least read out of all my stories)I deleted it today. On accident, but it is deleted. :[**

**3.) I'm planning out two new series' things. 1 is Twilight, it's the Cullen's life after Breaking Dawn, the other is Maximum Ride, it's sorta a soap opera, but it's my version of a soap opera(or how I see them)so it'll be a comedy. Would you read them?? **

**4.) Are any of you celebrating Day of Anti-Hardwicke tomorrow?? I am!! Me and my friend will be writing our oneshot(it might just be me. I don't know.) **

**5.) If you like this, check out Frequent Flock Flyers(sorry if I misspelled that.) by -iKate- (Iggy: And Total)**

**and lastly, **

**REVIEW PLEASE!! Or Max will play makeover with YOU. **


	2. Make Over The Emo Kid

**Yay! Time to update a story that I DON'T have writer's block for...actually, I have quite a few chapters planned out for this one. **

**Iggy: 'Bout time you wrote this...**

**Me: I tried to write it on the way home, but I kept falling halfway asleep then jerking awake due to the fact that I really need to sleep...lol, so instead I read Percy Jackson(OMPJ! ALMOST DONE!). Lol. So, here is, the next, chapter of, RAINY DAY GAMES! Yeah! **

**

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**

Ella, Nudge and Angel happily skipped into the living room with mischievous grins on their faces and hands behind their backs. Fang looked at me with pleading eyes. I grinned.

"Ella, help me get him to your room. We need your vanity for this." I said. Ella handed Nudge something silver and grabbed one of Fang's arms.

"Max, please, don't." Fang begged. Wow, Fang begging, I never thought I'd see the day.

"Sorry, Fang." I said sincerely and grabbed his other arm. Together, Ella and I drug him upstairs and into Ella's room. He was surprisingly calm and didn't struggle, but I know this kid, and the minute he thinks he can, he'll try to escape. That moment was exactly when I expected it to be. When Ella let go of his arm and I loosened my grip he jumped up, only to be knocked back down by me pushing him down with my full weight, which isn't that much, but he was caught off guard.

"Max," he growled, "get off of me!"

"Not a chance." I said, straddling him. "Nudge, rope." Nudge handed me some rope and I began tieing Fang to Ella's chair. I tied the last knot and got off of Fang.

"Okay," I said, "time to get to work. Let's start with this unruly mane of hair." Nudge handed me some scissors as I began cutting Fang's hair, and he didn't struggle a bit, thanks to Angel.

Once Ella and I got done with his hair, which used to be past his shoulders and his bangs were always in his eyes, it was a little bit past the bottom of his ear and it sort of had that side-swept look. And of course he got to keep the bangs in his eyes. He looked really hot, let me just tell you.

"Wow, Fang," Ella said, amazed. "You look," she stopped and looked at me, I gave her a warning glance, meaning 'watch what you call my boyfriend or I may have to murder you in your sleep'. "Great." She finished, although I know that wasn't the word she wanted to use.

"Thanks." Fang muttered, looking at himself in the vanity mirror. He had to witness the whole 'devistating' event take place.

"Well, I think you look hot." I said in spite of myself. I smashed my hand over my mouth, and grimaced as my lip hit my teeth hard. My face was hot enough to fry an egg, and Fang's smirk was enough to make me want to break that pretty little face of his.

"Thanks, Max." He said, still smirking, his eyes telling me he'd never let me live this down. I glared at him and moved my hands back to my sides.

"Time to move to the next stage of the game." I told the girls. Ella and Nudge giggled and Angel was grinning widely. I let a smirk of my own cross over my lips as I went through one of Ella's dresser drawers and pulled out her make-up bag. Fang's eyes widened and my smirk grew into a full fledged smile. "I'll let you take over this time, Ella. Nudge can help you, and Angel, well you know what to do. I'll go get the next step ready." I said, handing Ella the make-up bag and exiting the room. Oh how I love messing with Fang. But it's time to convince Iggy to help us.

"Yo, Ig," I called from the living room. He walked in from the kitchen and looked at me. It's creepy how he can do that even though he's blind.

"You rang?" He said and sat down in the chair in front of me. Still not seeing how, but neither is he. Get it? 'Cause he's blind and--Oh, never mind.

"Yeah, I need your help." I said. I told him the whole plan and he was grinning by the end.

"I'd love to." He said.

"Great." I grabbed his arm and led him to my room, where I prepped him for his part.

* * *

**~Fang's POV~**

I hate Max, so much. I wish she'd fall into a black abyss full of burning hot molten lava that would melt her entire body and liquify her to the core. Yeah, I'm that ticked at her. Nudge held my head still as Ella started putting this crap on it. I think she called it something like 'foundation'. But isn't that used for buildings?

"Okay, Nudge, which blush do you think would look better on him? The dark pink or the light?" Ella asked, holding up two canisters of powdery pink stuff that looked the same color to me.

"Light, definantly." Nudge answered. Ella nodded and put one of the canisters, apparently the dark pink, down. She picked up something like a huge paintbrush, swirled it in the pink powder, and began applying it to my face.

"Oh, this eye shadow would look gorgeous on him!" Nudge exclaimed, handing Ella another canister filled with a light purple powder.

"Nah, I got his eyes covered. They're they same as mine, only darker, and I got that one set that makes your eyes POP." Ella said, popping her 'p'.

"Ooh, I wanted Max to get me that, but she said no." Nudge sadly told her. The thing I hated most about this, I couldn't fight back. I wanted to badly in my subconcious, but Angel was controlling my...concious and that part of me just wanted to sit here and be made over. Ella continued my makeover by putting crap all over my eyes and then my lips.

"There," she said as she recapped her lipgloss. "You look beautiful Fang." Nudge and Angel started giggling and I felt myself regain my own control. Ella stepped aside so I could see myself in the mirror, and I screamed, horrified. I had all sorts of crap covering my face. My eyelids were green, my lips were bright pink, and my face had more color to it than usual. My cheeks were red, and it felt like I had peanut butter smeared all over my face. The crap was _caked _onto me. I hated it and wanted more than anything to go wipe it off, but I was still tied to the chair.

Max walked back in then, and her mouth dropped before she burst into uncontroable hysterics.

"F-Fang," she gasped between laughs, "you look," she snickered and guffawed again, "so pretty!" This, of course, caused Angel, Ella and Nudge to burst into a round of _I Feel Pretty._ Did I mention, I hate Max.

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

"Okay," I said after my giggles subsided. I tried not to look at Fang, for that would've made me laugh again, and I tried to ignore the girls' singing _I Feel Pretty._ "Time for stage three. Ella, my room." Ella stopped singing and joined me at Fang's chair. I untied him and we grabbed him quickly before he could run away. With a little help from Angel, we manged to get him to my room. I held him down on the bed while Ella walked into my closet to get his 'costume'. You are going to laugh your head off at this next part.

Nudge and I stripped Fang down to his boxers (He has a six pack!) and Ella walked out with Fang's outfit. We put it over his head and were happy to find that it fit perfectly. After adjusting Fang's attire one more time, I stood back to admire my handiwork. Here's the part you'll laugh at.

Fang was now standing in front of me, with make up caked all over his face, and he was wearing one of my mom's old dresses. The red one with rhinestones down the side. I couldn't help it, I fell to the floor, laughing my bum off and trying to call Iggy in. Nudge and Angel began laughing too, and Ella was able to call Iggy before she, as well, fell to the floor in giggles. Iggy walked in wearing a tuxedo I found in the attic, and he walked over to Fang, stepping over us giggly girls. He wrapped his arms around Fang and kissed him on the cheek.

"I can't wait for our wedding either, Fang," he said, "but I was thinking we both wear tuxes. Or at least _I_ wear the dress. It would flatter my figure much more." Fang glared at him, although the effect was lost, and shoved him away. He then glared at me, and I stopped laughing at once. That was his 'I seriously despise you at this moment in time and wish you'd fall into a vat of toxic waste and die' glare, and I never, ever, wanted to get one of those. I stood up and walked over to him.

"I'm sorry, Fang, we were just having fun." I said, managing to stifle all my chuckles. He continued glaring at me, so I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head on his shoulder. "If it helps, I think you make a pretty girl." The laughing trio on the floor was now joined by Iggy who lost it at my last comment.

"Will you ever forgive me?" I asked in my sweet, innocent, 'I'd never do anything to hurt and/or embarrass you' voice. Fang wrapped his arms around my waist and sighed.

"I hate when you do that," he muttered into my hair, "of course I forgive you." I smiled and pulled away from him.

"Good, because now I want you to do one last thing, then you can change and go wash that gunk off your face."

"What?" He asked nervously.

"Numa Numa." I said. I picked up my camera off my bedside table and pressed record, at the same time Ella managed to stop laughing enough to hit play on my radio and the song _Numa Numa_ blared out of the speakers.

"_Myiahe, myiahu, myiaha, myiahaha, myiahe, hyiahu, myiaha, myiahhaha," _some Romanian guy sung. Fang rolled his eyes, then began lip synching with the song and pumping his arms in the air, imitating the 'Numa Numa kid' on youtube. If you haven't seen the video, you should, the kid's great!

Once the song was over I said, "This is the NEW Numa Numa kid!" and pressed stop on my camera. Then, I fell to the floor laughing again. My sides ached from laughing so much, but I couldn't stop. Fang ran towards the door, but stopped as it swung open.

"What the-?" My mom asked, looking Fang up and down. "I was just gone for twenty minutes." I could see Fang's blush through his make up as he ran out of the room and into his own.

"I-it makes him feel pretty." I laughed. Mom sighed, grinning, and rolled her eyes.

"I think next time, I'm hiring a babysitter..." she said. A babysitter? For three fourteen-year-olds, a thirteen-year-old, and three younger children. Why?

"Maybe then you won't abuse one another with make-up and my old clothes." She finished. We all finally stopped laughing, at the same time Mom started. "But that was good, I have to admit." She told us. I took the SD card out of my camera and slipped it into my pocket. I have to remember to burn this on a disc.

* * *

**Whoo! Okay, there you go. This was pretty much written over a two day period, but whatevs. It's done now.**

**Iggy: And we're back in the town that the hospital's in.**

**Me: But this time we're in a hotel. Holiday Inn Express at that matter. **

**Iggy: And we'll be here 'till Sunday. **

**Me: Even though my sister just got released tonight. **

**Iggy: But we'll enjoy our time here. **

**Me: We're going to the mall! I may not like shopping, but that still excites me! **

**Iggy: And the horsepark.**

**Me: That excites me as well!!!! **

**Iggy: So, yeah...**

**Me: It's about 2 AM and my parents and lil sis are asleep in the bed beside us. Me and Iggy have to share a bed. AND DO NOT THINK OF THIS FACT IN A PERVERTED WAY OR I WILL SEND NUDGE ELLA AND HER MAKEUP BAG AFTER YOU! **

**Iggy: Yeah, it sucks, so now, why don't we go to sleep? **

**Me: Kay. We're gonna go to sleep. I just need my MP3 player and I'll be sit. OHEMPEEJAY! DID YOU HEAR THAT IGGY?! SOMETHING WENT BOOM!**

**Iggy: -sigh- It was a door closing. **

**Me: Haha, right...okay, so goodnight everyone. **

**R&R?? Please??? Or I'll send my 'style team' after you and you will be forced to dance to NUMA NUMA! An awesome Romanian love song!**


	3. Pillsbury Doughboy

**Otay, warning before you read this next chapter, I'm so DEAD right now. Like, dead tired. It's, exactly, five minutes to midnight. **

**Okay, that was SO weird, as soon as I typed that the song f** **ive minutes to midnight started playing. Wow...**

* * *

I smiled to myself and clicked on the burn button. Nudge, Ella and Angel were rolling around on my bed laughing their heads off. I now had perfect blackmail on Fang, and I wasn't going to let it go to waste. I have no idea why he agreed to dance to _Numa, Numa _last night, but he did and it was perfect.

"Was he drunk or something?" Ella asked between her giggles. I shrugged.

"Maybe it was the make-up, it made his face too heavy and the oxygen to his brain was cut off." I suggested. Ella raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

"Sometimes it's scary to think I'm related to you." She informed me.

"Sometimes it's scary to think I ever _kissed _that." I said, gesturing to the computer screen where Fang was dancing to the Romanian love song.

After she got done laughing, Mom wasn't too happy about the whole thing. Fang had gotten make up on her favorite dress. So, guess what happens every day when Mom heads off to work. If you guessed, I get two-hundred bucks so I can put this lot up for adoption, you guessed wrong. However, if you guessed a babysitter shows up to watch four teenagers and three little kids, you are absolutely correct!

But, having a babysitter could be fun. In an evil sort of way.

* * *

**Fang's POV**

It wasn't until the next morning that it dawned on me, the mess I'd gotten myself into. Max had a video of me dancing to a foreign love song. While wearing make-up. And one of Dr. M's dresses.

And to top it all off, we now have a have a _babysitter. _Yup, that's right. You should've seen the look on her face when she realized she was babysitting us, too.

"Hello, Stacey, thanks for coming." Dr. Martinez greeted a girl that looked only a year or two older than me. Seeing a car parked out front, I guessed she was over sixteen.

"Anytime, Dr. M." Stacey said as she flipped her honey blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Kids, come down here and meet your babysitter." Dr. M shouted up the stairs. I walked into the living room and found I was the only one. Great. "Oh, Stacey, this is Fang." Dr. M told her. Stacey smiled at me and held out her hand.

"Hi, Fang." She said, sounding like one of those preppy cheerleaders. I shook her hand and waited for her to grab some pom-poms and start doing flips through the living room.

Max and Ella came running down the stairs next.

"Stacey!" Ella squealed like a little girl and tackled the girl in a hug.

"Ella!" Stacey exclaimed in the same little girl type squeal. Once they finally pried apart, Ella introduced Stacey to Max, then the rest of the flock as they filed in.

"Okay, well, I'm off to work. No more ruining my dresses. Not only is there now a huge stain on it, it's also stretched out. Fang is just not meant to wear dresses." Dr. M said and exited, leaving Stacey staring at me in confusion.

"It's a long story." I muttered and turned to go back to my room.

"But if you really want to know," Max spoke up. I turned back around and she smirked at me. "I have a video." She looked at Stacey.

"It's hilarious." Ella told the new babysitter.

"I have a small feeling I'm here for you three more than I am for the younger three…" Stacey mused.

"Yeah, yeah you are." Ella said sadly. I turned back towards the stairs and hurried up. I had to get that video from Max.

* * *

**Max's POV**

Stacey, the new babysitter, is actually quite smart. Either that, or it's obvious that we're way worse than the little kids. I like to think it's the first one.

I heard footsteps running up the stairs. I turned toward them to see Fang rushing up and turning down the hall towards my room.

"Dang, the tape." I murmured then ran after him. He had a head start, but I, being a female and there for having a smaller frame, am more aerodynamic. And I can run way faster than him.

When I got to the top of the stairs I saw Fang messing with my door handle, trying to unlock it. Granted, these doors were easy to unlock, all you had to do was twist them enough and _presto _they're open! But mine was the trickiest. I caught up with him as soon as he ran through the door.

"No!" I yelled as he grabbed for the disc on my computer desk. He was _not _going to get that blackmail! I _need _that! I launched myself into the air. I hit the ground with a _thud, _but luckily, Fang cushioned my fall.

"Max," he groaned, "get off of me!" I reached my hand up and grabbed the disc, then got up off of him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you smell like…pepperoni pizza? Mixed with garlic butter and anchovies?" I asked him. He stood up and raised his eyebrows. I put the disc into a purple case, then slipped the case into my back pocket.

"Well, you do." I told him. "Go take a shower or something."

He glared at me as I swiftly walked out the door. I know, I rock, don't I?

* * *

**Ella's POV~**

"Okay," Fang said. "First we steal all the Snickers bars from a candy factory. Put those away.  
Then we find someone who can make robots that are extremely lifelike and always mistaken for a human, we buy one , or steal it, whatever floats your boat.  
After that, we make the robot run for president, Use the Snicker bars, we should have stolen over 70 million, to buy votes. Steal a billion Hershey bars. Put _those_ away.  
When the robot becomes president we'll use our remote to make him make chocolate illegal in the US. Using the black market, we sell the Hershey bars. We'll be rich.

Then, we'll hire a creepy-looking guy to 'assassinate' the robot president, make sure it is all caught on tape and is all over the news as soon as it happens. Therefore, the 'murderer' is all over the news, classified as highly dangerous, and thrown into jail for the rest of his life.  
Then, we'll use our earnings from selling the candy bars to bail him out, tell him to go into Max's room with a gun and threaten to kill he if she does not hand over the disk _right now_. Since the murderer has been all over the news and classified as highly dangerous, she should hand over the disk." That was the most I had ever heard Fang say. Ever.

"Fang," I said in a caring sisterly way, "what the _heckle _have you been smoking?" He rolled his eyes at me, back to his usual Fang self. Iggy spoke up then.

"Or you could steal it from her room while she's in the shower."

"You two have to ruin all my fun, don't you?" Fang scowled.

"Yeah, that's pretty much why we're here." I said, shrugging. Iggy chuckled and I felt my face heat up slightly, I was so glad Iggy was blind.

"Aww, Ella, why are you blushing?" Fang asked in a baby voice. I glared at him. Unfortunately, Fang wasn't blind.

"I-I'm not." I stuttered. "Idiot." I felt Iggy's hand touch my cheek, which only made me blush more.

"Actually, Ella," Iggy said, a grin creeping along his lips. "Your face is the brightest color of red I've ever felt." This statement, of course, made me blush _even more._

"Scratch that." Iggy laughed. "That's the brightest shade of red I've ever felt." I swatted his hand away and hurried out the door. I was…embarrassed. To say the least.

* * *

**Max's POV**

Ella came running into my room, beat red, and all out of breath.

"Hey, El." I greeted with a smile. I had a feeling this was going to be good. "Why are you so red? And breathless?"

"Iggy…" she gasped. "And Fang…blush…brightest red…ever felt…" She collapsed onto my bed.

"So, let me get this straight." I started. "Fang told Iggy that you were blushing, so he felt your face and said it was the brightest shade of red he'd ever felt, so you blushed more and he said '_that's _the brightest shade of red I've ever felt', and so you ran out and came here really fast. Right?" Ella nodded and sat up as I tried to figure out how I knew all that.

"Yeah, that's exactly it. And now, I can't ever be around Iggy again! Ugh, I _hate _liking people! It's so complicated!" She exclaimed. "Why doesn't stuff like this happen to you or Fang?"

"Uh…" I was at a loss for words. Luckily, my cell phone, yeah, Mom bought me one, began ringing.

"It's off the hillbilly hook, off the redneck chain…" I pressed the answer button and put the phone to my ear.

"Ello Jello." I said cheerily. I don't know who would be calling me…other than Mom.

"Hey, Max." A raspy voice said on the other end.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"It's…the Pillsbury Dough boy." The voice told me. I gasped, louder than expected.

"Ohemgee! Are you in the kitchen?! If I come down and poke your belly will you giggle?!"

"Um…why not. Look, Max, I have a mission for you."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Doughboy sir!"

"Your mission, if you choose to accept, and you better accept it, is to take a shower because you smell like Fang's armpits."

"Okay, Mr. Doughboy, I don't know how you know what Fang's armpits smell like, but I'll take a shower." I hung up my phone, grabbed some clothes and headed towards the bathroom. But, of course, I also grabbed Fang's blackmail disc. No way was I leaving that unguarded.

"Where're you going?" Ella asked me.  
"The Pillsbury Doughboy just told me to take a shower because I smelled like Fang's armpits." I told her and skipped out the door and down the hall.

On my way to the bathroom I rethought my last sentence…I sounded like a patient from a mental asylum.

* * *

**Yeah...so, I wrote the ending of it, like from Ella's POV to the end tonight while I was dead tired. I got the idea for the Pillsbury Doughboy from Joey...I think. Because tonight he was acting like the Pillsbury Doughboy and he giggled when we poked him. Hehe. **

**Yeah, so I think I'm going to try to sleep. Maybe. Doubt it. **

**R&R? Please? Don't make me get the Pillsbury Doughboy on your butt! **

**Iggy: I felt left out, so I'm going to say hi. **


	4. Time Out

**I'm pretty sure this is four. If it's not, then ignore the chapter number below. Thank you and announcements on the end!! **

**ENJOY!!**

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RDG Ch. 4--

~Fang's POV~

Perfect. This is too perfect. And way too easy.

I walked into Max's dark purple bedroom, and almost jumped when I saw Ella laying across Max's bed.

"Hey," She greeted, then went back to the magazine in her hands.

"What're you doing in here?" I asked. I tried to inconspicuously rummage around on her computer desk, casually looking down and moving a couple things.

"Reading a magazine…and you?" Ella replied.

_Where is that dang disc._

I sat down in the computer chair and nonchalantly opened one of her drawers and searched through it as I told Ella, "Uh…nothing."

"Really? It doesn't look like 'nothing'." She said. She sat up, closing her magazine and throwing it to the floor. "Looking for Max's disc?"

I nodded and offhandedly went through the other drawer.

"Just using Ig's idea." I told her. "She's in the shower."

Ella's face lit up in comprehension.

"_You're _the Pillsbury Doughboy!" She exclaimed.

I sighed. "No, Gazzy is. I'm the one that told him to call her and act like it though."

Ella chuckled and said, "I know I should be glaring at you for tricking my sister right now, but that was a brilliant plan."

"I _am_ a genius." I admitted. Ella rolled her eyes at me as I began going through Max's dresser drawers.

"She's not going to like that." Ella warned me. I ignored her and continued my search. First drawer, pajamas, a couple tops, no disc. Second drawer, socks, socks, dang this girl has a lot of socks, but still no disc. Third drawer…um, oops. Max would kill me if she caught me going through this drawer.

"Find what your looking for?" A sweet and familiar voice said directly behind me. I jumped, spinning around and slamming the drawer closed behind my back.

"Oh, uh, h-hey Max." I stuttered. The look on her face was enough to tell me I was in major trouble.

"Is there a reason you were going through my _underwear drawer_?" She asked menacingly, glaring at me.

"Um, well…" I started. _Come on, Fang. You can come up with a good excuse…hopefully one that won't get you killed…_

Her brown eyes shot daggers at me. I could've swore I saw flames shoot up in her pupils.

"I…love you…?" I tried weakly.

The flames in her eyes sparked again and I knew she was about to throw a huge fit.

I quickly preoccupied myself by making out a scenario in my head of how I wanted this to end, without me in a body bag, hopefully.

"_Oh, Fang," Max sighed, instead of ranting. "I can't think of a single mean thing to say to you, because, your just too epic win for me to do that. If I were to yell at someone as epic win as you, I'd just be a mega-super-epic fail." _

_She walked past me to her CD collection and pulled out a Demi Lovato CD case, have you ever noticed how close 'Lovato' is to 'lavatory', or is that just me? Not saying the girl's bad or anything, in my opinion she's an awesome singer, I was just pointing out a fact. _

_To my surprise, Max took a disc out of the case and handed it to me. On the front of it, in Max's handwriting, it said '_Fang- Numa, Numa- blackmail'.

"_Your giving me the disc?!" I asked, awestruck. So awestruck, in fact, that I didn't even notice Ella start singing the song _Starstrukk _by 3OH!3. _

"_Your so epic win, you deserve." Max said and planted a kiss on my cheek, then my lips. _

"Fang!" Max shouted, pulling me out of my fantasy and back into reality, where Max wanted to kill me and Ella was no longer singing 3OH!3.

"Are you even _listening _to me?!" She exclaimed. I nodded quickly, I was already in enough trouble as is.

"What did I just say then?" She asked.

"Are you even listening to me." I answered confidently, and earning a smack in the head.

"Ouch." I complained, rubbing my neck. "Gosh, Max, your going to give me whiplash."

"Oh, you deserve things much worse than whiplash." She growled.

"Max, I don't really think you should be dropping such strong innuendo in front of your little sister." I told her quietly, earning myself another smack.

"Your going to pay for this. Ella and I will torture you in such cruel and unusual ways that you'll be on your knees begging us to stop." She snarled, the flames in her eyes a full fledged wildfire.

"Oh no your not."

Max spun around quickly, landing in a fighting stance. She relaxed, sort of, after she realized it was just Stacey.

"Max, threats are not nice," Stacey chided. "And you woke Angel and Total up from their naps with your yelling, you have time out."

Max's eyes bulged.

"But he was going through _underwear drawer_!" She exclaimed. Stacey gaped at me.

"Fang! You have time out, too! Now, both of you, go sit on the couch! On opposite ends." Stacey ordered. Max and I walked, well Max stomped, downstairs, mumbling and grumbling the whole way. We fell onto the couch, on opposite ends.

Unfortunately for me, it was at that exact moment I realized that, I really, really had to go to the bathroom.

Stacey and Ella came down after us, Ella was carrying a half-asleep Angel.

"Stacey," Max started, "don't you think your taking this a little too far. I mean, we're fourteen."

"You should've thought about that before." She replied simply, then walked into the kitchen with Ella and Angel.

"This is all your fault." Max hissed. I looked at her in astonishment.

"How is it my fault?!" I cried.

"Because…" She thought for a moment before finishing with, "It just is!"

"Brilliant comeback." I retorted.

"Your mom." She snapped.

"What about her? Have you met her?" I asked with fake enthusiasm.

"Yeah, and she's so fat she has to put her belt on with a boomerang."

"Oh yeah, well, your mom's so dumb, she sat at a stop sign for three weeks waiting for it to turn green." I countered.

"Well, your mom's so ugly, it is now against store policy at Wal-Mart to serve her at the portrait studio as it constitutes as cruel and unusual punishment that goes against the Geneva Convention."

I had to admit, that one was impressive, but I couldn't let her win that easily.

"Your momma's so old, her social security number is 8." I said.

"Yo momma's so old, when she sneezes, dust flies out."

"Yo momma's so dumb, she sat for an hour and a half trying to alphabetize a bag of M&Ms."

"Yo momma's so fat, she's the reason they changed one size fits all to one size fits most."

"No, I believe that was your fault." I retorted, unable to think of anymore 'yo momma' jokes. Max gaped, then started laughing.

"I must admit, that was a good one." She looked down at her stomach. "But I'm not fat am I?"

I laughed and shook my head. We sat in silence for a few more minutes. For those of you that don't know, time out is really boring.

"If money doesn't grow on trees, then why do banks have branches?" Max asked. I looked at her questioningly. "Just a thought." I shrugged.

"Why do you have to 'put your two cents in' but it's only 'a penny for your thoughts'? Where's the extra penny going to?" I mused.

"Charity for people suffering from mental-retardation?" Max posed. I shrugged again.

"Maybe."

"Think they'd fire you if you were to drink Pepsi in a Coke plant?" She asked.

"I don't know. If a 911 operator had a heart attack, who would they call?"

"912?"

Insert another five minutes of silence here.

"What would you like to hear us say at your funeral?" I asked Max. She looked at me skeptically.

"I don't know. I guess, that I was a great person and didn't deserve to die." She finally answered. "What about you?"

I thought for a minute, then answered. "I'd want you to say, 'Look, he's moving!'."

She chuckled.

"Wait, weren't we mad at each other?" She asked. I nodded.

"Well, actually, you were mad at me. I was making up scenarios in my head where you finally figured out my true epic-win-ness."

Max giggled.

"Okay, you guys are free." Stacey said as she came back into the living room. Max and I cheered. "_After_," Stacey continued, "we watch a movie. Nudge's pick." Max and I groaned in unison.

"Can I at least use the bathroom first?" I begged. Stacey nodded and I ran as fast as I could down the hall.

* * *

**Okay, first, I would like to give a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to my new beta-reader...drumroll please Ig. **

**Iggy: Your the percussionist. **

**Me: Ex-percussionist. -sigh--drrrrrrrrrrrrrruummmmmrrrrrrrrrroooolllllll-**

**St. Fang of Boredom!!! Yes, the awesome-mega-epic-win St. Fang of Boredom. **

**Yeah, so, thanks Saint! **

**Also, be sure to check out Saint's fansite! Made by MOI. There's a link on my profile and on hers. Yes, that's THIS Skittles. Lol. **

**Anyway, I would also like to thank Amber, Frenna and Allie(they are on dA, so you all may not know them...). Why? Because their cool like that! Haha. **

**Anyway, so, yeah. Iggy, thoughts? **

**Iggy: I don't see why Saint had to go and give me and celery fetish AND a stalker...**

**Me: Because she loves you. **

**Iggy: She loves Fang too, but he ain't got any fetishes. Or stalkers. **

**Me: He was kidnapped....**

**Iggy: Me too!**

**Me: Point. Anyway, I'd also like to announce this: **

**I am a runaway dead kid in a coma! **

**Yeah, you heard me...that's right. **

**R&R!! Otherwise, this runaway dead kid in a coma will hunt you down and eat'chu!! **


	5. Movies

**I think you all might like this. Saint thought it was a hit! Haha, although I think Fang was ready to throttle me...You'll see why. Just read. **

**Now. **

**Go on. **

**You can do it. **

**After the DISCLAIMA': Maximum Ride is not mine. The Celery is not mine either, that belongs to Saint&Fang. But the Garlic Bread I'm eating IS mine and so is Stacey!**

* * *

RDG: Ch. 5:

**~Max's POV~**

The flock assembled in the living room, fighting over who sat where. Stacey, who got fed up with the fighting, decided where we sat. The three youngest sat on the couch with her, Iggy got the recliner, Ella sat in the rocking chair, and Fang and I had to sit on the floor with Total and Magnolia. I see how this whole 'babysitting' thing will turn out.

"So, what movie are we watching." I asked, trying my hardest not to glare at the evil babysitter.

She shrugged.

"It's Nudge's choice. I brought some movies to choose from." She pulled out a small, black disc holder from her bag and handed it to Nudge.

"Do we get popcorn?" Gazzy asked.

"Popcorn is not good for you, all that butter is unhealthy." Stacey told him. "Instead, of that, I brought you all…" she dug in her bag and pulled out a plastic Ziploc bag. "Celery!"

"CELERY!" Iggy cheered, jumping up and running over to get a piece.

"That was odd…" Fang muttered beside me. Iggy claimed his stick of celery and happily sat down in his chair, nibbling contently on the green vegetable. Celery is a vegetable, right? Hmm…oh well.

"Ooh! Can we watch this?" Nudge asked Stacey, pointing to a movie in the case.

"Oh, that's a good pick, Nudge. Of course we can." Stacey took the DVD out of the holder and put it in the DVD player.

"What're we watching?" I asked, and was ignored.

"Oh, I want to watch this too!" Nudge decided, showing Stacey another DVD.

"We can watch that next, that's a good movie, too." Stacey told her.

"What. Are. We. Watching?" I repeated.

"What's it about?" Nudge asked her.

"It's about this boy that has a pet dog. It's sort of like _Marley and Me." _Stacey explained.

"What the freak are we watching?!" I shouted.

"Max," Stacey scolded. "Inside voice please." This chick may not make it out of this house alive. "We're watching _Little Women._"

"A _romance _movie? Are you serious? Please tell me your joking." I pleaded. Stacey rolled her eyes and shook her head. I'm being forced to watch a freaking _romance_. This babysitter defiantly won't make it out alive.

Five minutes into the movie I was ready for it to be over, now guess how I felt a half hour into the movie? If you guessed euphoric and totally drawn in, your wrong, but you completely described Fang. It was weird, Fang was completely into this movie, it's like he has a fetish for romance movies. I mean, I know this movie isn't completely romantic, but it is for the most part, and that's enough to annoy me.

If you thought it was weird that Fang was into the movie, you should've seen him with that Jo girl turned down Laurie's proposal.

"What? What the heck is wrong with you?! He's perfect for you!" Fang exclaimed. Lucky for him, Nudge, Angel and Stacey all shouted at the same time, so his voice was drowned out by theirs. But I could still hear him. I gave him a side-long glance and I could've swore he blushed.

**~Fang's POV~**

Okay, everyone, brace yourselves for my next sentence, get ready to gasp and go into shock. I know how un-me-like this is but, _Little Women _is one of the best movies I've seen. Wow, that was kind of weird to say. I think I need to wash my mouth out.

"Okay, now can we watch _My Dog Skip_?" Nudge asked. Stacey nodded and switched out the DVDs. Skip? Who names a dog Skip? Oh well, time for another movie. I grabbed the last stick of celery, earning a glare from Iggy, how did he even know I got it? And what's up with him and celery?

Anyway, with my celery in hand, I leaned back against the couch, trying to avoid feet, I hate feet. Max laid back beside me and I put my arm around her waist. Shockingly enough, she didn't push my arm away. Instead, she moved closer and laid her head on my chest. I smiled to myself as the movie started and Stacey turned the lights out.

**~Ella's POV~**

_They are SO cute, don't'cha think? _Angel asked me in my head. It was still weird, being able to talk to her in my head, but I've been getting used to it.

_Yeah, they're perfect for each other. _I told her, referring to Max and Fang. I snuck a glance at Iggy, who was still nibbling happily on a piece of celery. I swear, that kid can be so weird sometimes…but even when he's at his weirdest he's still…Whoa, whoa, whoa, what am I thinking? No, no. Angel might hear.

_I already did. _The six-year-old giggled in my head.

"You heard nothing!" I exclaimed, earning myself odd looks from five bird kids, two dogs and my babysitter. Angel giggled and continued to watch the movie.

"Look!" She squealed. "The dog is driving!" Insert more giggling here.

That child truly is evil.

I tried to focus on the movie, but really, it just wasn't that interesting. I nonchalantly turned my gaze back over to Iggy. He was laying back in the recliner with his eyes closed. I didn't think he was asleep, but maybe watching the movie in his head, since we all know good and well he couldn't actually watch it. Poor guy.

I redirected by attention back to the movie, if I hadn't I probably would've ended up glomping Iggy…

**~Max's POV~**

_That stupid…and then the shovel…and the…OHMYGOSH!! Max, why would somebody do that to a poor little puppy?! It's just an innocent little animal! It didn't do anything! _

_Angel, honey, please, stop screaming in my head. I already have a headache as is, I don't need a six-year-old PETA member yelling at me because of a movie. _

_Sorry Max. _

I sighed and re-adjusted myself beside Fang. He laid his head on top of mine, which didn't help my headache much. I was about to move my head when I heard a quiet sniffle above me.

As much as I doubted it, I turned my head slightly and looked at Fang.

Holy.

Flipping.

Rat snacks.

It took all of my self-control to _not _burst out laughing. Fang, _the _Fang, Fang _the emotionless wall_, was…okay, brace yourselves…_crying! _Over a _movie! _Fang noticed me looking at him and I swear his face was as red as little red riding hood. I giggled quietly and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and we returned our attention to the movie.

"Oh, that was so sad!" Nudge said, a tear running down her cheek. Stacey wrapped her arms around the crying girl and rocked her back and forth, tears of her own forming in her eyes.

"I know. Gosh, it gets to me every time." Stacey said, blinking her eyes to hold back tears. I, unlike the other girls in the room, was completely unaffected by the 'tragic ending' of Skip's life. I really don't think 'tragic' is a word to describe it, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

I looked back up at Fang, and again had to hold in an outburst of giggles. Fang was sobbing quietly to himself, his head down so his hair would hide his face. His face turned that same shade of red again when he noticed me looking at him. To save him from further embarrassment, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder so it would look like _I _was the one crying and Fang was comforting me, while in actuality, it was the other way around, and I was trying not to laugh my head off.

**~Fang's POV~**

That poor dog! It was so sad! He had gone through so much! He got hit in the head with a shovel!! A SHOVEL! Poor, poor, poor Skip…-sniffle-

* * *

**Yes, the celery WAS referring to St. Fang of Boredom's Avian Flu...I just couldn't help it, Ig was reading it over my shoulder as I wrote it(which he KNOWS I hate), so, just to annoy him. And the little Fang snippet was to annoy Fang, since him and Saint beta-read this thing.  
Now, I should probably go practice my scales, GAH! How pathetic to fail BAND of all classes...**

**Oh, and if you haven't seen _Little Women _or _My Dog Skip _I highly recommend them, along with _Sense and Sensibility, Iron Jawed Angels, _and _Marley & Me._**

**Iggy: Now, what do you think is more pathetic, my celery fetish/stalker, or Fang CRYING over a MOVIE? **

**Me: Your celery thing. I'm just like Fang in the tears department and I 'bout bawled when I watched _Marley & Me. _No joke, that movie. Ohmigawsh, it kills me everytime. The only thing that kept me from crying when I saw My Dog Skip was the fact that I was too busy throwing cheese puffs at my friends who were entangled in each other on the classroom floor. That was an interesting day...**

**Oh yeah, and Iggy now has a stalker on Twitter. Iggys_Celery. BWAHAHAHA!! Iggy now has TWO stalkers! **

**Iggy: -gasp- Maybe the Celery IS IAMReAlLyAnNoYiNG! **

**Me: Maybe Ig maybe. -sigh- We be off now. **

**R&R or a highly P.O.'d Fang will eat'chu in your sleep. (This would probably scare Saint the most, lol.)**


	6. Bottle Wars

**Yay! Time for another update! Again, I'd like to thank St. Fang of Boredom for being a wonderful beta-reader. Also, I'll do a quick disclaimer: **

**Dis-claimer: I'm not a rich old man, I'm a poor young girl, therefore, I do not own Maximum Ride. I DO however own most ideas in this story. The Bottle Wars(you'll see what that is)belongs to my friend Eric(he suggested we do that in science class today). **

**Okay, now, I do have something _hilarious _I'd like to share with you. Well, it was _hilarious _to me. **

**Iggy: And me. **

**Me: We were in band today, and we had just played the Banner so we were moving to our next piece. Well, Mrs. Garr, my band director, motions horns up, but my friend Brandon(baritone player)suddenly said, "Wait! My hand's stuck in my baritone!" (Not the Barry Sax, the miniature tuba.) Mrs. Garr just kinda looked at him and then she started laughing, and so did the rest of us. :D. It was HILARIOUS! And people say band kids have no fun, I'm SURE the other bands got a kick out of that story today. **

**Also, one last thing. **

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Celery(XD), Justin, Janet, Christian, and all those poor people out there that suffer from S.P.A.M.(Slightly Passing As Male)like Fang...**

* * *

**~Fang's POV~**

There's got to be a way to get that disc…There's got to be _some _way.

I sighed, angry that I couldn't think of anyway to steal that disc from Max.

"Looks like I'm going to have to search for 'professional' help with this one." I muttered to myself, rising from my computer chair. Just then, my door flew open.

"You needed me?" Iggy said confidently. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How'd you know?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Just guessing. I knew you 'd need somebody's help to get that disc from Max. And I knew you'd come to _me _for that help."

I narrowed my eyes at him, then sat back in my chair.

"Okay, what plans have you got?" I asked. He grinned, closing the door behind him, and sat down on my bed.

"The best plan that someone on cold meds can come up with." He told me.

"Why are you on cold meds?" I asked curiously. He shrugged again.

"Couldn't sleep, and the Lunesta box was empty." So, Iggy's a druggie now.

"Just don't get addicted to Night Quills." I warned him.

"Um…you mean _NyQuil_?" He asked.

"Yeah, right."

**~Max's POV~**

"I feel like having an orange." Ella said, rolling over to face the ceiling.

"Then go get one." I told her. She threw down her magazine and sat up.

"Why don't you go get me one?" She asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because…the Pillsbury Doughboy is in the kitchen. And he wants you to poke his tummy." She said seriously, poking herself in the stomach to demonstrate.

"And, you want an orange too." She added. I sighed. Dang, you'd think _she _was a mind reader.

"Be right back." I said. I stood up and made my way to the kitchen. Stacey was standing guard by the doorway.

What? Is she afraid we'll steal some of our own food?

I tried to nonchalantly make my way past her, but of course failed.

"Hey, Max, where you headed?" She asked. She reminded me of an overly paranoid parent.

"Um, to the kitchen…?" I said slowly.

"What're you going in there for?" She questioned.

_Why the flocking heck do you care? _I wanted to ask, but instead I told her that Ella and I were craving oranges. She nodded and let me pass.

I shook my head as I pulled the door open and walked into the kitchen. My foot hit something cool and soft. I looked down to find…pillows all over the floor.

"What the-?"

Before I could finish the question, something heavy tackled me to the ground. I let out a short squeal as I hit the ground, somehow missing every pillow around me.

"Hand over the disc and no one gets hurt." A familiar voice said above me. I turned my head to see Fang hovering over me.

"Get off of me." I ordered. He did not listen. Bad kid. Bad, bad kid. Instead, something plastic came in contact with the top of my head.

"Ow! What was that?!" I managed to push him off me and sit up, only to be hit again with an empty 2-liter.

"Give me the disc." Fang growled.

"I don't have it!" I told him, and he hit me with the bottle again.

"Yes you do."

"No I don't." I insisted. I got up and ran over to the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of Coke. As Fang came at me again with the 2-liter, I whacked him across the face with the bottle.

"Ow, no fair!" He said, rubbing his cheek. "Mine's empty. Pour yours out."

"No, then you'd have a bigger bottle than me! How's that fair?" I protested. He sighed and handed me another empty 2-liter. Idiot…

He came at me again with the bottle, but I deflected the blow with my own bottle and hit him upside the head.

I saw his little arsenal under the sink and made a dive for another bottle. Hey, a warrior's got to have a shield.

He saw me and tried to cut me off. Of course, my speed helped me again in the end. He slammed the cabinet door right after I pulled out a second bottle. He glared at me and came at me again. I deflected the blow again and hit him with the other bottle. He was not happy.

We circled each other, until I finally got tired of doing that and went in for the kill. I held the bottle in my left hand in front of my face and waved the other bottle with my right hand. My distraction worked perfectly, he was focusing on the bottle in my right hand, so I jabbed the bottle in my left hand at him, catching him by surprise. Shocked, he dropped his bottle. I kicked it away easily and began beating him over the head with both of my bottles.

"Okay, okay! I give, I give! You win!" He shouted. Stacey walked in at that point, glaring daggers at us.

"What are you two doing?" She asked unusually calm.

"Um…"

"Bottle Wars…?" Fang suggested.

"Why are there pillows everywhere? Max, why are you beating poor Fang up with bottles? Fang, are you okay? Did she hurt you? Here, come here, let me take a look at you. Max, you clean this up." Stacey rambled. I gaped at her as she escorted Fang out of the kitchen.

She. Is. Going. _Down. _

* * *

****

So, yeah. I wrote this when _I _was 'high' on Night Quills.

**Iggy: NyQuil!**

**Me: Whatever. I asked my mom if we had any Night Quills and she just stared at me. Then I begged her not to send me to the Orphan Russianage. **

**I blame the fever. **

**Anyway. **

**R&R!!**

* * *


	7. Topix!

**O-N-O-M-A-T-O-P-O-E-I-A!!! With a buzz buzz here and a quack quack there, here a slam, there a bam, everywhere a boom boom, o-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a. **

**Iggy: -headdesk- Why Mrs. Jackson, why?**

**Me: SECOND VERSE! O-N-O--Iggy puts duct tape on my mouth- **

**Iggy: Whew, thank you Mr. Chrisman...**

**Anyway...er...dang, I don't want to do this A/N alone...-looks at me- But I don't want to have to listen to her sing another verse of that dang onomatopoeia song...**

**Me: -shakes head rapidly- **

**Iggy: -takes tape off- Okay...so...Skits, you have the stage. **

**Me: -grins- It's like ra-ain, on your wedding day, like a free ri-ide, when you've already payed--**

**Iggy: Just talk. **

**Me: -sigh- Fine. I blame the two above random outbursts of song on Mrs. Jackson, for she she sung the onomatopoeia song today and let us listen to Ironic the other day. And I LOVE that song! And Fireflie by Owlcity, but aside from my musical loves, I would like to do this: **

**Thank you to: St. Fang of Boredom, Fang, the Unicorn named Bill, Spiffy&Pooky(don't know why, just fillin' space here), and whoever invented Mac&Cheese.**

**Dedication: THIS chapter is dedicated to: Vera, Kara, and all the other tweeters. :D**

**Now, on to the chapter!**

**

* * *

**

**~Max's POV~**

I stormed into my room, slamming the door behind me. Ella looked up at me from the computer.

"Where's my orange?" She asked as I took a piece of paper out of the printer.

"Go get your own dang orange." I growled, sitting down at the end of the desk.

"Someone's a bit hostile…" Ella commented. I ignored her and continued to madly scribble on the paper. Ella craned her neck to get a better look. "What's that?"

"My ultimate plan to kill Stacey." I said, showing her my doodle.

"Max, I don't know how to tell you this, but…you don't have access to 300 million volt taser…or a unicorn named Bill." She said. I groaned and slammed my pencil down on the table.

"I know," I sighed. "That's what sucks."

"Why do you want to kill her, anyway? What'd she do?" She asked. I nearly snarled.

"Little miss…flirty babysitter thing was flirting with Fang!" I exclaimed, then I told her the whole 'bottle wars' story.

"Aww, I think someone's turning a little green." She said after she got done laughing.

"Yeah. Seeing that she-witch flirt with Fang is sickening." I snarled.

"I meant green from jealousy, but okay." She said slowly.

"I am not jealous!"

"Says the snarling, shouting, and totally jellin' girlfriend."

"When did I become his girlfriend?" She shrugged.

I glared at her, then, I did the most mature thing I've done yet. I stood up, growled at her, then stormed out of the room.

_Wait…I just stormed out of my room. Well, I can't go back in there without looking like an idiot… _I thought to myself. I sighed and made my way to the only room I could think to go to. Fang's room.

When I got there it was empty, so I guessed he was still being nursed to health by…it. I sat down at his desk and turned on his computer, just to give myself something to do. After ten minutes of aimlessly searching the interweb I came across this website called _topix._

"Looks like _somebody _failed third grade English…" I muttered to myself. Seriously, I mean, _every_one knows how to spell topics. T-O-P-I-K-S. Duh.

With my curiosity stooping, I clicked the link and it sent me straight to a 'sign up' page. I shrugged and put in my information. Name: Max Ride. Age: 14. Hometown: Mesa, Arizona. I clicked the 'finish' button and it sent me to the Mesa topics page.

Apparently, there's a meth lab beside the local elementary school…interesting. After scrolling through the site, I figured out it was just a gossip site where people rant about people they don't like.

Such as an evil babysitter by the name of Stacey Wallace…

Yes, Stacey was mentioned on topix. Apparently, I'm not the only person that doesn't like her. I quickly read through the comments on her.

_BeeBee22: She's so evil! I swear, she treats me and my sister like two year olds, and we're fifteen! Gawsh…_flirting _with him! The devil. _I decided to leave a comment of my own.

BrianMayhan: BeeBee, I know how you feel. She's a she-witch. She used to babysit me and every time I said something she put me in timeout!

StFangofBoredom: I haven't actually met her or anything, but I heard she was babysitting this one girl, and the girl's boyfriend was there and Stacey started

VeraAmber: StFangofBoredom I heard that too! I think the girl's name was Maxine or something like that…and her boyfriend's name was so weird…

StaceysBeau: Stacey is NOT like that at all. She's the sweetest, kindest person you'll ever meet!

BeeBee22: StaceysBeau Yeah, to you. Not if she's sitting you.

_MaxRide: StFangofBoredom VeraAmber She did the same thing to me! She's totally trying to steal my boyfriend! I mean…my…ugh, never mind, it's complicated. Anyway, she's so…ugh. I even made this amazing plan to kill her, but then my sister had to go be a spoil sport and rain on my parade. It's like rain on your wedding day, gosh. Rawr. One day, that chica will feel my wrath…_I clicked the 'post' button as soon as the door flew open.

"Max?" Fang asked. I quickly clicked the little red 'x' at the top of the screen before Fang came over and saw what I was doing. Problem? Of course there was. The screen had frozen up.

"What are you doing in here?" Fang questioned, making his way over to me.

"Um…nothing…" I said as innocently as I could. I tried to click the little flag thingy, but the mouse was frozen, too. Shiznet…

"Really?" He was halfway to the computer…oh crap…

I tried to press the button the modem, but it was, of course, somehow jammed. Almost two feet away…

I thought quick, then pulled the plug out of the wall. Fang looked at me skeptically.

"What, where you watching 'How to be ninja'?" He laughed. Thank God he'd gotten into 'nigahiga' videos lately. I laughed dryly.

"Heh, yeah, you caught me." I stood up and quickly made my way to the door. "Gotta go, bye." I said, leaving and closing the door behind me. Whew, that was close.

I sighed and made my way down to the devil's cave. For those of you that have no clue what I'm talking about, I mean I went to the living room. Maybe I could just kick back and watch some TV…maybe Dora was on. I love that little driving squirrel, Tico. That sounds a lot like Taco…I wonder if he likes tacos…he is Mexican, don't all Mexicans love tacos? Wait, aren't I part Mexican? Hmm, do I like tacos?

__

Why yes, I do, Max, I love tacos. Okay, enough talking to myself.

I flopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote from the coffee table, only to have it snatched from my hand. I looked up at, oh just take a guess.

"Max, TV isn't good for you. You should go play or something, maybe read a book." Stacey said, putting the TV remote in her back pocket.

"But, I was just going to turn on some music to dance to." I lied smoothly. Stacey smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Silly goose," She started, "you can't dance to music on the TV. Too many commercials."

"Not if I use Music Choice." I corrected her. Her smile faltered for a minute, and I swear she glared at me for a millisecond.

"Well, I'm the babysitter and I say no TV. You don't have Music Choice anyway." _Yes we do. _"And I don't want you watching anything inappropriate." _Like what? Mom set Parental Locks. _

With that, she walked away, leaving me fuming on the couch. I can't even watch a freaking episode of Dora or Diego? Rawr…

I looked over as somebody sat down beside me. Fang. Of course.

"Yes?" I asked, wondering what he was up to.

"What?"

"What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" He leaned forward and flicked on the TV, turning the volume down quickly.

"Why are you in here?" I asked him. He pointed to the TV like it should be obvious, but I wasn't that stupid.

"Just wanted to watch some TV…" He said innocently. "With my girlfriend…or…just, it's complicated."

I felt the blood run to my face and tried my best to keep him from seeing me. A grin played at the corners of his mouth.

"Or, at least that's what she says…" He corrected himself. I glared at him, then did the second most mature thing I've done all day. I slapped him, got up, and stomped off to my room.

Maybe _that's _why mom hired Stacey…

* * *

**Hmm, one could wonder. **

**Iggy: -snickers- **

**Me: What?**

**Iggy: Laughin' about what Saint said...**

**Me: Huh? **

**Iggy: When Fang read that Max slapped him his hand shot up to his face. **

**Me: Oh...hehe...lol...I _really_****want nachos now...dang it Brandon! Anyway, how'd you like it? **

**Sucks? Great? Horrid? Amazing? (insert more positive/negative adjectives here)**

**R&R? If you don't I shall be forced to send a herd of llamas singing the onomatopoeia song after you!!! **

**And, I got the word 'shiznet' from my science teacher! Hehe, not joking. **


	8. Friendswith benefits?

****

Whoo Chapter 8 ist here!! Well...just read it...it seemed to have Saint guessing on stuff...

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

Stacey finally left, Mom's finally home. Thank the heavens!

"Hey, Max." Ella said, walking into my room and sitting on my bed.

"If Fang sent you, don't waste your time, just get the heckles out of here." I said. Ella shot me an innocent, confused look. Pfft, I'm not falling for her tricks.

"I don't know what your talking about Max." Ella said innocently.

"Uh huh, sure you don't. Look, you will not trick me into telling you how much I like Fang so you can go prancing off and telling him that I'm in love with him." I informed her.

"In love?!" She exclaimed. I mentally slapped myself. Idiot! Why did I just say that?!

"And you will _not _repeat my last statement!" I ordered. "_EVER!"_

Ella backed away slightly and saluted. "Yes ma'am." She got up and quickly left. I'm going to get that girl…

After a few hours of silence, which was slightly odd, but I didn't care, Fang came barging through my door.

"What?" I asked calmly. He was glaring down at me. "Oh, is it that time of the month again?" His glare hardened. "Okay, not in the mood for jokes. So, what's up?"

He didn't say a word. Just glared. And glared. And glared more.

"Okay, what the heck is your problem?" I demanded, standing up. He was silent for a few minutes, before saying, "You."

"What. The. Crap?!" I shouted. "What did I do?"

"Your you," was his ingenious reply.

"Care to further explain why me being me is aggravating you to no end?" I asked.

"Your…you!" He exclaimed. Didn't he just say that? I do believe he did. "Your…confusing and, and…aggravating."

"Wow, Fang, no need to freak out trying to think of adjectives." I said, putting my hands on his shoulders. He jumped like I shocked him with a taser…oh how I wish I had a taser.

"Your just being so…" He stopped searching for the right word, then finally decided on, "you!"

"Duh, and your _you_. Everyone is themselves."

"I can't think of another word to describe you." He continued. I sat back down, preparing myself for his rare rant-fest. "I mean, first you run away when I kiss you, twice. Then, you make out with me, three times. And when we came here you act like we're just friends again, but then you call me hot when you cut my hair and shoot Ella daggers when she was about to comment on my haircut. And now I'm just…confused. What are we? Friends? More than? Or just friends with benefits?"

I stared at him. That's the most I've heard him say in a long time. Of course, when it comes to stuff like this, Fang seems to babble quite a bit.

He looked down at me expectantly, no doubt he wanted an answer.

"Friends with benefits…?" I tried. He rolled his eyes and ran his hands through is hair.

"Max, I'm being serious." He growled.

"Well, Fang, what do you think we are?" I asked him. He sat down beside me and sighed.

"I don't know, hence the reason I'm asking _you._" He said.

"Well…I don't know!" I exclaimed.

"Look, Max," Fang said quietly. He grabbed my hand, and, oddly enough, I didn't want to pull back. "I love you, more than anything in the world. And I always will, no matter what."

Then he asked the dreaded question. "Do you feel the same about me?"

I thought for a minute. Actually, longer than a minute. Probably about an hour.

_Do I love Fang? Well, of course I do. Don't I? Yes…right? Can I just freaking admit it to myself?! I _do! _Hence why I agreed to that date in Hawaii, and why we kissed all those times. I do. Now, all I have to do is say that out loud. _

I looked up at Fang, who was looking at me, and nodded.

"Yeah...I do."

A smile spread across his face as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, and I was reminded of exactly how much I loved him.

* * *

**~Iggy's POV~**

I'm beginning to think I suffer from a severe case of insomnia. I pulled myself into a sitting position on my bed and pressed a button my alarm clock.

"It is 1:23 AM." The clock said in a female robotic voice. Why was the voice female? Isn't that a little sexist? I mean, I'm glad Dr. M got me a talking alarm clock and all, but she also has a phone that tells us who's calling, female voice, and a themometer that talks, also a female voice. I may be one of the world's biggest sexist pigs, according to Max, but I think all that is crossing the sexist line.

I stood up and headed towards the bathroom that me, Gaz, and Fang shared, being careful to not step on or trip over anything Gazzy may have left lying around. Thank God for that article I found online about how to sneak around at night. Of course, if you have to have things talk to you, you can't really be that sneaky, can you?

"Iggy? What are you doing?" Gazzy asked from his bed across the room.

"Uh, gotta use the bathroom." I said.

"Oh...well, be sure to tell the penguins I said hi." He said, a few seconds later he started snoring again. I swear that kid has expiremented with drugs...

I walked into the bathroom and opened the cabinet above the sink. I felt around in the cabinet until I came across a bottle with a blue liquid in it. NyQuil, or as Fang calls it, night quills. I shook my head, I think he's been expirementing with drugs too. Where else would Gazzy get them?

I brought my hand up to unscrew the lid, but there was something in the way. I felt it, it was pink...neon pink. I found an edge and it rolled back some, on the back of it was a sticky substance. Tape? Pink tape. Ella's neon pink duct tape! Wait, why did Ella put duct tape on the NyQuil? Boredom? Probably...

I sighed and put the bottle back. I didn't really want to take anymore of that disgusting stuff again anyway. Have you ever drank that crap? It's horrible.

I rummaged through the cabinet until I came across a box. It was light blue and white. I tried to make out the letters, but the most I could make out was 'l', 'n', and 'a'.

"Well," I said to myself. "Lunesta has an 'l', 'n', and 'a'." I shrugged and took a pill out of the box. Let's hope I'm right about what this crap is. I popped a couple in my mouth and swallowed, put the box back, and made my way back to bed.

The pills didn't help one bit.

* * *

**Well as far as the pills go, I can tell you it wasn't Saint's guess...but I so with I had thought of that. So, it's not Mylanta. See what else you can come up with. If you give up, go to chapter 9! I'm being generous, I wrote two chapters together! **

**Iggy: You don't want to know what I took. **

**Me: I think it's quite hilarious Iggy...**

**R&R?**


	9. Plan B?

**This is a longer one, it took two messages to send to Saint, instead of the traditional one. If there are any typos that either Saint or I did not catch, sorry. I was on my craptastic laptop. **

**I think you may enjoy this one. This is how I killed Saint and Fang...Dang it...well, if Hades doesn't let 'em come back, the funeral will be held tomorrow at around five, mmkay? **

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

"Max! Max! There's something wrong with Iggy!"

I opened my eyes to eight year old Gazzy's worried face.

"What's wrong Gaz?" I slurred tiredly.

"Iggy! He's, like, moaning a lot and stuff, and he has these red spots around his eyes." Gazzy said quickly. Sure enough, right after Gasman finished his sentence, I heard a low moan from across the hall. I started to get up, but found I was pinned down. I looked behind me, where Fang was snoozing contently with his arm draped across my waist.

"Gazzy, go see if you can figure out what exactly is wrong with him. I'll be there in a second." Gazzy nodded and ran out of the room, slamming my door shut behind him, which caused Fang to jump awake, and that contracted a snicker out of me. Fang looked at me and rubbed his eyes.

"What was that?" He asked. I sat up and ran a hand through his knotted hair.

"Gasman. He said there was something wrong with-" I was cut off by another moan.

"Iggy?" Fang finished. I nodded.

"I'll be right back." I told him as I got up and headed across the hall. Wait...why was Fang in my room? I shrugged the thought away as I entered the room that Iggy and Gazzy shared. Iggy was laying on his bed in the fetal position clutching his stomach.

"I think he has a stomachache." Gazzy informed me.

"What gave you _that _idea?" Iggy retorted weakly in a hoarse voice.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know. I finally fell asleep, then I woke up with this horrible pain in my stomach." He explained and looked up at me. I noticed that, like Gazzy had said, he had red spots on and around his eyes.

"Oh, my God, Iggy." I sat down on the edge of his bed beside him. "What happened to your eyes?"

"I don't know." Iggy said.

"What's going on?" Mom asked tiredly from the doorway. Ella was standing behind her, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"Something's wrong with Iggy." Gazzy said. I stood up and mom walked over to take my place on the bed. Ella stood beside me, examining Iggy.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked me.

"Stomachache and red spots around his eyes." I said. By now, the rest of the flock was in the room crowding around Iggy's bed.

"You know, I read an article at school about a guy that had the exact same things happen to him." Ella said.

"What was wrong with him?" Nudge asked.

"Well, he went to his friend's party and locked himself out of his house, so he couldn't go back home." She started, Mom cut her off.

"Do we really need to hear the whole story?"

"No, but the story is hilarious, so your listening. Anyway, She, the guy's friend, told him he could join her sleepover. He accepted, even though he didn't really want to, so he went to her bathroom and found some sleeping pills. After he took a some, he went and told her that he had taken them. Problem was, they weren't really sleeping pills." Ella finished.

"What were they?" Fang asked.

"Plan B." She said.

"The morning after pill?" I asked. "So, let me get this straight, you think Iggy took the morning after pill?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." She shrugged.

"Iggy, did you?" Mom asked him.

"No. I just took some sleep meds." He told us.

"But, you said you couldn't sleep." Gazzy reminded him. "So, maybe you didn't really take them. Maybe you did take a...morning after. What does that mean anyway?"

"Um, we'll talk about that when your older." I said quickly. Gazzy nodded and dropped the subject. Thank God.

"Iggy, what exactly did you take?" Mom asked.

"Um, some Lunesta stuff. I think." He answered.

"What do you mean, you think?"

"Well, I couldn't actually make out the words, just a 'l', 'n', and an 'a'. But, Lunesta has all those letters in it."

"So does Plan B." Ella said. "Can you show us what you took?"

Iggy nodded and rolled himself out of the bed. We all followed him as he walked into the boys' bathroom and rummaged through the medicine cabinet. He grabbed a box and handed it to me.

"This is what you took?" I asked, examining the box in my hand. He nodded. "Well, two questions run through my mind. One, why the heck is there a box of Plan B in the boys' bathroom, and two, where Gazzy and Iggy getting frisky in here last night?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Iggy asked. "Did I really take a birth control pill?"

"Yes, Iggy, you did." Ella said. "But don't worry, by tomorrow your stomachache will be gone, and in a couple days the red spots will go away."

Iggy groaned and hit his head against the wall.

"Well, look at it this way Ig," I said, trying not to laugh. "At least you won't have to worry about teenage pregnancy." Iggy glared at me as the three younger kids, along with Ella, cracked up.

"I blame you for this." Iggy said, turning towards Ella. It's creepy how he can do that.

"Me?" Ella asked. Iggy nodded like it should be obvious. "What did I do?"

"You put duct tape on the NyQuil! I would've taken that otherwise." Iggy grabbed the NyQuil bottle out of the cabinet and showing us for proof. There was neon pink duct tape around the lid.

"I didn't do that." Ella said.

"Then who did?" Iggy asked. Fang looked up guiltily.

"I did." He said.

"Why?"

Fang's eyes widened as he stepped closer to Iggy. "Because! Cold meds make you see some _freaky _stuff, dude! Freaky! STUFF!"

We all looked at Fang.

"Fang, honey, are you okay?" I asked, very concerned.

"Um...I'm going to go watch some TV..." Fang turned and fled downstairs quickly.

"Well, I have to go to work. Stacey should be here soon, Max do you think you can keep the house running until then?" Mom asked.

"Shouldn't a _good _babysitter be here before you leave?" I countered.

"I'm leaving earlier than I told her. Just, don't cause any destruction. Iggy, hon, you stay in bed. Els, why don't you go make him some soup." Ella nodded and hurried downstairs towards the kitchen. "Max, will you get some Pepto out of the cabinet?" I snaked between her and Iggy and began rummaging through the cabinet as she told the kids to go off and play. Finally I found the pink bottle and I took it to Iggy. He took it from me and drank half of it down in one gulp.

"Ig, that can't be good for you." I commented.

"Neither can being a guy and taking a morning after pill." He retorted.

* * *

I sat down beside Fang on the couch. He was watching some show where these guys were blowing stuff up, my mind instantly jumped to _Mythbusters_, a show Iggy and Gazzy had got me and the rest of the flock addicted to. Sure enough, the next screen shot was of Adam Savage building…something big and wooden.

Anyway, I noticed Fang was staring at something outside the window.

"Um, Fang?" I asked. He didn't look at me, but waved to show he knew I was there. "What're you looking at?"

"Oh my God, there's a pelican eating a pigeon out there." He said in disgust. I'm really starting to worry about this boy…

"Fang, sweetie, are you feeling okay?" I questioned. He turned from the 'gruesome sight' outside the window, all I saw was a blue Toyota Prius pulling up, and looked at me.

"Yes, I'm fine, Max. Why do you ask?"

"Because your acting…differently, for lack of a better term." I put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Have you been playing the choking game? I hear that kills brain cells…Or, have you been sniffing sharpies? Doing drugs? Anything like that? Do you have an addiction problem? If you do, just tell me. I'm here for you."

He shot me an 'are you effin' serious?' look.

"Max, I'm not on drugs, and I haven't been playing the 'choking game'. And I'm not addicted to anything. I'm fine." He said sincerely.

"But, what about what you said earlier? About NyQuil?"

"I…just…care for Iggy's health." He said slowly. "I've heard stories."

"Fang, are you addicted to NyQuil?"

"What?! No! That stuff is _nasty! _How do you get addicted to something so sickening? It makes me want to vomit."

"Then how do you know it makes you see freaky stuff?"  
"Um…small overdose…it was the night you and Ella took the girls' 'camping' in the backyard. Your mom gave me some for my cough, but just a little bit too much."

"What 'freaky stuff' did you see?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." He averted his gaze from me and looked at the floor.

"Fang…what happened?" I asked. He stood up and walked over to the window. Stacey was climbing out of her car, with a large bag. This is scary…

Stacey smiled at us and I saw Fang grimace as he turned back towards me.

"Fang, what did you see when you took the NyQuil?" I asked again. "You've got me curious, now I want to know."

"Dancing chinchillas." He admitted. I looked up at him with comforting eyes, trying to not laugh. "And the Pillsbury Doughboy. He…told me to poke him…and I did. Then he pulled a gun on me! A GUN! THE PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY HELD ME AT GUNPOINT!" He shouted, grabbing me by both shoulders. "He tried to mug me, Max! He wanted all my money! He took my pretty purple purse and rode the chinchilla off into the sunset, then sent his cookie minions to finish me off! The cookies, of course, were a failure. So the Pillsbury Doughboy was madder than a Keebler elf demoted to the fudge room. And that's exactly what he sent after me next, the Keebler elves! Oh, it was horrible. Absolutely horrible, Max.

They, they smothered me with chocolate then put cookie crumbs all over me. After that I blacked out…I'm not sure what happened, but I'm pretty sure it was bad. I woke up and I was sitting next to Bill Engvall on a plane. I asked him where we were going and he told me 'the scene of the crash. We'll beat the ambulance there by about a half hour.' Oh, I freaked out Max. It was horrible. The plane kept going down, and right as it was about to crash I blinked and then I was on a pirate ship. I was standing next to Jack Sparrow, and I said 'is that a monkey?' and then he, he sicced the rabid little lemur on me! That's all I actually remember…Oh, but the rest of horrible Max, horrible."

I didn't know what to say, so I just wrapped my arms him and tried to console him without bursting into laughter.

"Fang," I said quietly into his ear. "You are never taking NyQuil again."

* * *

**Before you say anything, I _know _Ron White had the airplane joke. But, Bill Engvall is my favorite, next to Jeff Foxworthy. And I sorta forgot which one said it...**

**Iggy: Now, tell the good people how many things you stole for this chapter. **

**Me: Only about three! You make me sound evil or something. There was the 'pelican eating a pigeon' thing, that was just something random the guy off of Cash Cab said that made me crack up this morning, the plane joke, the 'madder than a Keebler elf demoted to fudge room' from Larry the Cable Guy...I _almost _used Adam Savage's quote, which is my all time favorite quote, 'I reject your reality and substitue my own'. I love that. And Mythbusters. Jamie and Adam are wicked mcawesomene! **

**Also, if you haven't seen my recipe for Super McAwesomene hot chocolate, the link to it is on my profile. It is awesome. And tasty. **

**Iggy: I gotta ask, where'd you get the dancing chinchilla thing? **

**Me: My mind. **

**Iggy: And WHY did you make me take the morning after pill?! **

**Me: Hehe...well, I didn't want you actually taking a sleeping pill, and the Plan B commercial was on...And that article Ella was talkin' about, is real. I read it. Wow...and it's the only case of a guy taking a morning after pill. Well, at least we won't have to worry about anymore Justins popping out. **

**Iggy: -glares- **

**Me: Well, I'm going to run before this kid kills me. Toodles folks! **

**R&R??**


	10. Don't Mess With The Pillsbury Doughboy

**As usual, mucho thank-you's to Fang and Saint for beta-ing! Sorry it took me so long to post. But I think, by Saturday, I wil have updated every story at least once. :) **

**Iggy: Only because she's had people bug her to update. **

**Me: -coughcoughVERAcoughcough-**

* * *

**~Max's POV~ **

"Uno!" Nudge and Gazzy exclaimed at the same time.

"This should be interesting…" Fang whispered to me. I grinned and laid down a card. Me, Nudge, Fang and Gasman had decided to play card games until Mom got home, just to give us something to do. I'm surprised Stacey hadn't told us we couldn't play cards because 'We might get a paper cut!'. She found something wrong with virtually everything else. Monopoly, we could get choked on a game piece; tag, we could trip and get hurt; mountain climbing, we might fall and break something. Granted, she didn't know about the wings, but still.

Fang had a turn after me, and he ruined Nudge's dreams of winning. With a neat flick of his wrist he laid down a draw 4 color wheel and said, "Blue." Nudge groaned and drew four cards out of our quickly shrinking deck, then laid down a blue eight. Gazzy grimaced when he realized his one card wasn't blue, then drew another out of the deck. He frowned when he didn't get the card he wanted. I smiled and laid down my card.

"Uno." I said, grinning. Fang laid down a blue card.

"Her last card is blue." He whispered to Nudge. "Change the color."

Obviously, he's never played this game with me before. He'll be in for a surprise. Nudge laid down a draw 4 color wheel, which ticked Gazzy off, but she changed the color to green. Gazzy took his turn, and I took my final turn, laying down a color wheel.

"No fair! That's cheating!" Nudge cried. "Fang said it was blue!"

"Well, Nudge," I said calmly, "in a way, it is blue. And red, green, and yellow."

"I quit. You two cheat." Nudge threw her cards down and got up from the table.

"I think I'm going to go see how Iggy's doing." Gazzy said and followed Nudge out of the kitchen.

"Play again?" Fang asked. I shook my head. "Okay, want to play War?"

Whoever made up that game, obviously had a _lot _of spare time on their hands. So did we, so I nodded and grabbed the deck of playing cards.

"What's fifty two divided by two?" I asked.

"Why don't you just deal until there aren't any cards left?" Fang questioned.

"That's too easy." I answered and started doing the math in my head. "Twenty-six. Twenty-six cards each. Okay." I started dealing the cards, but lost count around fifteen, so I just dealt until we were out. Fang laid down his top card and I laid down mine. I won.

Usually people make random small talk when they play this game. What would two teenage bird-kids talk about while they play a game of war? I didn't get to finish my thought, Fang beat me to the punch with a conversation starter of their own.

"If a stripper gets breast implants can she write that off as a business investment?" Fang asked me as we laid down our next cards. Seriously, this kid is starting to worry me. I just stopped and stared at him for a minute, then shook it off and answered, "Probably, if it helps her business. If not, it's a personal thing."

"I'd say it helped her." He mused.

"Who is this stripper, exactly?" I asked. "And who's her client?"

"Your sister, and Iggy."

"Ella and Iggy, huh? Well, I'd say no matter what Ella does to her body, it won't effect Iggy any. He can't see."

"But he can feel."

"True…I'd say that'd probably be a business investment."

"That's what I was thinking." I nodded and we continued with our game as I thought over what was just said.

"Did we seriously just have a conversation about my sister being a stripper for Iggy?" I asked. Fang nodded.

"Yup. I bet he'd like it if she wore, like, a bikini made out of food."

"Probably." I agreed.

"Like bacon."

"Or celery."

"Or a llama."

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.

"A llama?"

"Yeah." He said. "You know, like, something made out of llama fur. I hear it's really soft."

"I bet it is." We played in silence for a while longer, until I won about an hour later. With new boredom sitting in, we both decided to go find something else to do. Which ended up being a failed mission, so we joined the rest of the flock for another movie. Great. This time, Angel got to pick the movie. Gazzy sat beside her, trying to convince her to pick a movie that he apparently really wanted to watch. After almost half an hour of contemplating(and no, that was not a hyperbole), she finally decided on _Sky High. _A movie about superheroes.

I sat down in the floor beside Fang, who inconspicuously put his arm around my waist, so Stacey wouldn't bite our heads off for subtle PDA. That chick is _crazy._ With a capital 'ka'. I felt myself drift into sleep halfway through the movie, and by the end, I was out.

I was shaken awake sometime later. I looked to my left, where someone was shaking my shoulder, but no one was there. Not even the flock. I looked around to find that I was completely alone in the house. There wasn't a sign of anyone.

"In here." Called a voice from the kitchen. I recognized it as the bubbly voice of the white, doughy, Pillsbury Doughboy. I stood up slowly and walked into the kitchen. Sure enough, standing on the counter looking at me was the Pillsbury Doughboy. I don't know why, but I had a sudden urge to poke his belly to see if he'd laugh like he does in the commercials.

I made my way over to him with an outstretched hand. He glared at my hand, but I didn't stop advancing. Soon I was close enough and I poked him in the stomach gently. But he didn't giggle. Oh, no, he did just the opposite. He reached an arm behind his back and pulled something from behind him.

A rusty spork.

I gasped and jumped back. A rusty spork was the deadliest weapon in the world! Why does the sweet, little Pillsbury Doughboy have one?! He stuck his other hand behind him and pulled out a cupcake. I watched in fear as he peeled the paper off the cupcake and raised it behind his head. He threw it with perfect precision, but luckily I ducked before it could hit me, and it instead hit the wall and burst into flames. Cupcake combustion. Not how I want to die. He glared at me and jumped from the counter, landing perfectly, still holding the spork. He ran towards me, growing three times bigger. I still looked down on him, but now his blue eyes were filled with hate and blood lust. I backed up until I ran into the kitchen wall.

Just as the Doughboy was about to stab me in the stomach with the spork, Scooby-Doo ran in and rammed him. Fang followed. He took the spork out of the Doughboy's hands and stabbed him, right in the heart. White flour poured out of the wound, but Fang kept stabbing.

The Pillsbury Doughboy's final words were, "I would've gotten away with world domination, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" Fang turned to me and then…

…I jumped up in bed. Wait, when did I get in my bed? I looked around the room, but this time I wasn't alone. Fang was sitting across the room in his computer chair, looking at me. I was in Fang's room, with Fang. And Fang. Fang was sitting beside me on the bed, on both sides. He was also standing at the foot of the bed. There were Fang's everywhere!

"Fang?" I asked quietly.

"Yes?" They all questioned in unison.

"HOLY CHEESENUGGETS!" I shouted.

"Max. Max, wake up." Fang said, shaking me. I opened my eyes cautiously. Thankfully, there was only one Fang. A very worried looking Fang. Surrounding him were a very worried looking flock, all looking at me.

"Max, are you okay?" Nudge asked. "Because, you just, like, freaked! You were muttering stuff, like, about the Pillsbury Doughboy and stuff. And then a rusty spork and then you just shouted out 'Holy cheese nuggets!' and Fang was like, 'OHMIGAWD!' and we were like, 'WTF?!' and--" Fang put his hand over her mouth, thankfully.

"What's wrong?" Stacey asked. She walked over and felt my head. "Max…" she started, but trailed off. She put both her hands on my cheeks, then put one back on my forehead.

"What?" I asked, agitated.

"Are you on drugs?" She asked, giving me a concerned look. I gaped at her. I felt like she was insulting my intelligence.

"What?!" I screeched.

"Are you on--" I cut her off.

"No, I'm not on freaking drugs! Are you?! Why the fnick would you think that?! Why the fnick would I do drugs?! Why the fnick am I saying why the fnick?"

"Because your in love with Fnick." Iggy stated. I rolled my eyes and sat up.

"Your zoning out and your sweating. Symptoms of doing drugs." I rolled my eyes again.

"I'm sweating because I just got attacked by the Pillsbury Doughboy with a spork and a combustible cupcake!" I said, then realized that probably didn't help my argument.

"I'm going to have a talk with your mother…" Stacey said and left again.

"Great, now Mom's going to think I'm a druggie hooked on Night Quills like Fang." I muttered. That, of course, earned me a glare from Fang.

I ignored him and went to the bathroom.

Those dreams scared the pee out of me!

* * *

**So, yeah...both those dreams just kinda came to me. I needed to add something so...there we go. **

**You don't mess with the Pillsbury Doughboy. **

**He's like Chuck Norris, only whiter. **

**Iggy: -laughs- Niiice...**

**Me: Also, check out my newest story, _Letters to the Flock. _**

**Iggy: Okay...this is an oddly short A/N. **

**Me: I know. **

**R&R??!!**


	11. Homophobic, Perky Little Babysitter

**So, so, so sozry that this hath not been updated, I am. Talking like Yoda again, I am as well. Think I will update now, I do. ENJOY! You will...Trust me. **

**Thanks a-bunches to: Saint&Fang! Glee cast, why? Dunno, but I was listening to Glee covers the whole time I wrote this and I'm going to go watch Glee in a minute. AND my poor little caps key. I admit, I did abuse it a bit during this. :( Also to my trumpet, Joey(Brianna named it...not me...), and...Ricky. The 7th grader that I sit next to when we combine. And I will _not _be sitting next to him in Spring! I WILL MOVE UP! I'll kick their little seventh grade butts! MUHAHA!! **

**-ehem-**

**Anyway, enjoy this chaptr of RDG! (Which is in fact Rainy Day Games, not Red Diamondback Gorillas....)**

* * *

**~Fang's POV~**

If I wanted that disc, I'd have to get on Max's good side. Sure, I'm her boyfriend now and all that jazz, but that doesn't automatically put me on her good list. It's hard to get there. And by hard I mean if she were Santa, most of the population would get coal for Christmas, Rudolph would probably be on probation, and the elves would wear shackles.

Yeah, it's that bad.

Anyway, I knew one thing that would defiantly put me on her nice list, and probably banish me from her naughty list for eternity.

_Get rid of Stacey. _

And I knew the perfect way.

* * *

I walked down the hall, with Iggy, towards the living room. Over the past couple days I learned something about Stacey. She is the biggest homophobe every.

And I mean gay people scare her.

How do I know? Simple observation.

Yesterday when she left, I had to help her take some stuff to her car. A gay couple walked by holding hands, Stacey scoffed in disgust and as they got closer she backed up and hid behind me. I greeted them kindly, they waved. And once they passed Stacey whacked me in the back of the head.

Biggest. Homophobe. EVER!

As we got closer to the living room, I grabbed Iggy's hand. This feels so awkward…

Stacey looked up at us as we entered, horror instantly filled her eyes when she saw us holding hands. I struggled to keep the smirk off my face. Iggy and I sat down on the couch beside her and he put his arm around my shoulders.

Really, really awkward. But awkward for a good cause.

I kept that thought going through my mind, that I was doing this to help Max, the girl I loved, because I'm straight and like girls not guys.

"Um…hey guys." Stacey said slowly. Iggy smiled at her and pulled me closer to him, which only heightened the awkward level. Her eyes widened.

Time to seal the deal. The one thing that would freak her out. The one thing that would have her running from this house, that will make her _want _to leave. The one thing that will undoubtedly scar me for life if we make even one mistake.

The kiss.

Um, let me rephrase that: The _fake _kiss.

Iggy turned to me and started leaning in. I watched as Stacey's face changed from disbelief, to disgust and back again. Iggy pressed his lips against my cheek, too close to my mouth than I preferred. It was apparently believable, because Stacey completely _freaked. _

And Max had a conniption.

Yup, Max. She had to choose _that _moment to walk into the room.

"FANG! IGGY! WHAT THE HECK?!" She shrieked, which caused Iggy to jump and his lips to actually land _right on mine._ I immediately pushed Iggy away in shock and disgust and looked at Max's shocked face. She turned to Stacey, who was hiding across the room behind a chair.

"SEE WHAT YOU DID TO HIM?!" Max yelled at her. "YOU HIT ON HIM AND TURNED HIM GAY!! YOU SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HIM AND NOW HE'S MAKING OUT WITH IGGY!!"

Stacey stood up, being sure to stay a good distance from me and Iggy, and looked at her.

"I did _not _hit on him. He's a child and I'm not a pedophile." She informed Max calmly.

"Well you sure don't act like it! And even if you _were _a pedophile, which you are, Fang's taken…one way or another." Max looked at Iggy and I, still sitting in close proximity on the couch. I jumped about three feet away from him, hoping she'd get the message.

"Th--I--" Stacey stuttered. "I'm leaving!" She walked out the front door, got in her car and drove away. Just like that.

"Well, that's one problem solved." Max muttered, then turned to look at us. "Now, care to explain?"

I explained everything, how I wanted to get rid of Stacey and I knew of her homophobia and Iggy agreed to help me. By the end she was laughing so hard tears were coming out of her eyes.

"And I guess you did this all just so I'd give you the CD back?" She asked once she had calmed down some.

"Maybe…" I said slowly.

"Then you just kissed Iggy for nothing. You are _never _getting that CD. Ever." She said derisively and walked back out of the room. Darn it.

I got up and ran quickly to the bathroom. I washed my mouth for almost half an hour.

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

"I got a call from Stacey while I was at work." Mom said as she walked into my room. I looked up at her from my computer screen.

"That's nice. What'd she say?" I asked, typing in random letters, then clicking the 'search' button on Mystery Google. It came up with a search page for 'zig zag'.

"She quit." Mom told me. I nodded nonchalantly.

"Why?" I asked.

"She said something about crazy kids, calling her a pedophile and Iggy making out with Fang…" She said. I nodded again and typed in 'gay pride' into the search bar. The definition of 'scared' popped up.

"Max, what happened today?" Mom asked. I shrugged and decided to play one of my favorite games, Fish Tycoon, while mom ranted.

"Well, it sure sounded bad. You made your babysitter _quit_." She began. I mostly tuned her out as I impregnated all my fish. She went on for another twenty minutes as I continued my game. My fish were starting to tick me off…None of them would have babies! How do you sell fish if they won't have their _babies_?! I growled quietly and checked on my store. Eight people went in. And left.

"WHY WON'T YOU BUY MY FISH?! AND WHY WON'T MY FREAKING FISH HAVE THEIR FREAKING BABIES?!" I exclaimed. Mom looked at me like I had just admitted my undying love for a red diamondback gorilla.

"Max, are you even listening to me?" She asked.

"Um…yes…?" I tried. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Fine, in lamin's terms, your grounded. No computer, no Fish Tycoon, no TV…and no seeing Fang unless either me or your new babysitter are around." She said.

"What?!" I shrieked. "WHY?!"

"For whatever you did to Stacey. One day she loved all of you, the next she's scared to even come in the house."

"Because Fang and Iggy pretended to be gay to get rid of her! She's homophobic! She's a homophobic pedophile! She sexually assaulted Fang! She's…she's…she's a demon spawn!! She should burn in the deepest layer of TarTarus! Even farther down than Lord Kronos himself!!" I yelled. Mom seemed to consider this for a minute, then looked at me.

"How is she a pedophile?" She asked.

"She was hitting on Fang! She's, like, a pedophilic prostitute or something…"

"Pedophilic prostitute…So, she paid Fang when she hit on him?"

"With cookies."

"When was this?"

"Um…" Okay, so maybe I had stretched the truth a bit. But, still, she _did _hit on Fang. She _did _try to steal him from me. And she _does _annoy the crap out of me. "When Fang and I had the epic bottle war."

"Oh, you mean when she took him away after you beat him over the head with a bottle?" "Yeah."

"She's fired."

"Really?!" I looked up at her in disbelief.

"Yep." She said, smiling at me. "You obviously don't like her, so we won't use her. And your not grounded."

"YES!!" I ran out of my room and into Fang's.

Fang was on his bed, listening to his iPod as usual. I jumped on his bed beside him, causing him to jump, and hugged him.

"Um…okay…random, but I'll take it." He said, wrapping his arms around me in response. I laughed and smiled at him.

"You did it!" I told him. "You got rid of Stacey!" His eyes light up.

"Really?" He asked. I nodded and started to kiss him, but pulled away last second.

"Iggy didn't actually kiss you on the mouth, did he?" I asked him, hoping for a negative.

"Not until you popped in and made him jump. But I washed my mouth with three different types of mouth wash." He said, giving me one of his rare grins. "I even brushed and flossed." He added.

I grinned and pressed my lips against his, loving the feeling of our lips moving in sync against each other.

No pedophilic, homophobic, perky little babysitter will _ever _steal my Fang from me.

* * *

**So, you likey? **

**Iggy: I likey. Fang and I _finally _get some action...even if it is small...for now...**

**Me: ...Don't worry, homophobes and/or figgyphobes, there will not be figgy...at least not a lot of it...It's an unusual fetish of mine, so...Okay, I'll try to keep Figgy to a minimum...Maybe a gay joke here and there...**

**Iggy: :(**

**Me: Fang is Max's, Ig. Sozry. BTW, I'm purposely spelling it 'sozry', because that's what I usually say, so...why not? Anyway, like it? **

**R&R! Otherwise you will be attacked by my two newest red diamondback gorillas, Chuck and Chester. Name after Mr. C's pencil sharpener and his whale stapler. :)**


	12. Paranormal Activity

**Iggy: Happy Thanksgiving!! **

**Me: -sniffle- Yeah. Sorry, I'm listening to Katniss's song to Rue...Gah, I almost cried in that part of the book. **

**Iggy: And she did cry during a certain part dealing with Peeta in Catching Fire. **

**Me: The end annoyed me. Anyway, we're doing an MR fanfic here, not HG. So, here's chapter 12! Yeah, great, no? Well, I have chapter 13 done and I just sent it to Saint(my AMAZINGLY FANTASTICAL beta[because yes I do have a beta, EclispedRose96, and she did not appreciate that review, nor did I, we're human, we make mistakes])so, I don't know if it'll be up today. In an idea world it will be, but you never know. It all depends. So, here's chapter 13!**

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

"I'm home," Mom called as she walked through the front door. I gave a short greeting then turned my attention back to the TV, as did the rest of the flock and Ella. Even Total and Magnolia were hypnotized by the television.

"What're you all watching?" Mom asked from behind Fang and I on the couch. Fang was paying such close attention to the movie that he didn't even bother to separate from me, as he usually does when Mom walks in.

"Movie." Someone murmurs from the floor. I watched as the woman climbed into bed.

"What movie?" Mom pried. Ella started explaining the movie to her, but stopped when, on the screen, the blankets on the bed started moving. The next second the woman on screen was dragged out of bed, screaming her head off, by an invisible force. Screams rang through the living room as she was dragged down the hall. Angel buried her face into Fang's side as his grip on both of us tightened, pulling us towards him.

"Paranormal Activity." I answered, turning towards her. She was also shaken by the previous scene. "It's actually really boring in the beginning, but now I'm interested."

I turned my attention back to the TV, moving closer to Fang. Yes, I, Maximum Ride, got freaked by a movie. And you know what part had me turn to Fang, finally, and partially hide my eyes for the rest of the movie? When the woman walked downstairs, obviously possessed, let out a bloody murder scream and came back up the stairs holding a bloodied knife and covered in blood. At this point, I'm sure I wasn't the only one doing so. Fang had an iron grip on me, I could hear Angel's small whimpers and through my fingers I saw Iggy holding Ella, who was also trying to avert her eyes from the screen. I looked down to see Total with his paws over his eyes and Magnolia curled up beside him. I let my gaze go up, avoiding the screen where I'm sure someone just got shot from the sound of gunfire. Fang's eyes were filled with fright, but of course his face was as calm as ever.

But after the movie, he completely broke down.

"Um…Max…?" I heard him say from my door. I looked up from the book I was reading(Yes, I read).

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Can I…um…stay…in here…tonight. I, um, don't want you to have nightmares form the movie…and, er…" He said slowly, trying to find the right words. I cut him off by nodding and patting the space beside me on the bed. He gave me a grateful look as he walked in, closing the door behind him, and sat down beside me on the bed.

"A little bit scared?" I asked him, closing my book and laying it on my bedside table.

"Pfft, yeah, right." He said, rolling his eyes. I smirked. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on his pillow, at which point I grabbed his ankle and tugged slightly. He sprang up, screaming and yanked his foot up away from my hand. He glared at me as I laughed so hard tears were coming to my eyes.

"It wasn't funny." He snarled. After I calmed down some I apologized, but I don't think it really had the effect I wanted it to have since I broke into hysterics in the middle of the apology.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door, followed by a 'goodnight' from my mom. Fang and I both replied, which lead into the 'don't do anything stupid' speech through the door. Fang and I agreed and Mom walked back down the hall.

"Do you want the light on or off?" I asked Fang.

"Off. How do you sleep with the light on?" He questioned. I shrugged and flipped my lamp off, which was the only thing illuminating my room. Fang and I crawled under the covers and he wrapped an arm around me. I could tell he was uncomfortable with the darkness from the way he jumped at nearly every bump in the night and looked around constantly.

This, of course, made it harder for me to go sleep, knowing Fang was scared half to death from a stupid movie. Okay, that thought actually makes me want to laugh hysterically, but that's not really the thing to do here.

"Fang, do you want me to turn the lamp on?" I asked tiredly sometime around midnight. He shook his head. "Then settle down and go to sleep."

Another hour passed. Fang was still nervous and rigid, and wide awake.

"Fang," I started.

"I'm asleep." He insisted. "You're dreaming. I'm not really awake. You're not really talking to me."

I rolled my eyes and turned to where my back was to him. That only caused him to get more nervous, so I turned back and snuggled up to him, hoping that at some point he would calm down.

He never did, so, finally, at 2 a.m. I flicked on the lamp and turned towards him.

"Fang," I said calmly. He looked at me, his face impassive and calm, but his eyes wild and freaking out. "It was just a movie. There are no such things as ghosts or demons. Calm down. The house is old, it makes odd sounds. The moon is making shadows. Now, the lamp is on, the room's lit up, go to sleep, please." He nodded, but I knew it would be a long time before he actually went to sleep. I sighed.

"Happy Thanksgiving, by the way." He whispered. I looked up at him questioningly and he gestured to the clock. "It's Thanksgiving. Thursday, November 26th." I nodded.

"Happy Thanksgiving." I told him, very, very tired.

"Go to sleep. Don't let me keep you up." He whispered. I nodded again and curled up under the covers in Fang's arms, safe from anything. That's how I felt at least, as I drifted into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

**~Fang's POV~**

I stayed awake for another hour, unable to get my mind off the creaking in the house, the sound of the fridge kicking on and off downstairs, the heaters switching on and off, the noises I'm making myself hear that aren't really there. All because of that stupid movie. Why did it freak me out so bad? No movie has ever freaked me out. I mean, sure _My Dog Skip _and _Little Women _made me cry, but at least I could sleep after watching them.

I closed my eyes, repeating Max's words in my head. _It was just a movie. There are no such things as ghosts or demons. _

I want to believe that. I really want to, and part of me does, but another part is keeping me up, telling me that there's something going on. That I need to be afraid and keep a look out for any unusual movement. Anytime I closed my eyes my vision was filled with scenes from the movie, either when the girl chewed her arm off during the exorcism, or the woman covered in blood after killing her boyfriend. All of it scared the living crap out of me. Sure, the beginning of the movie, fine, boring actually, but then, once she gets possessed, everything is…Just crazy.

An alarm goes off somewhere in the house. I look over at the clock and realize it's four in the morning. Max was sound asleep beside me. I let my mind wander off again, thinking about anything and everything. Today was Thanksgiving, so I guessed that the alarm was Dr. M's alarm clock, waking her up so she could get a jump on the meal. Sure enough, not too much later I heard shuffling in the hallway, doors open and close and the shower in the bathroom start up. I listened to the hypnotizing sound of the water down the hall, so clear in the dead of night. I was shocked everyone else slept through it, but then remembered thanks to that movie all my senses are probably on hyper drive.

Have you ever noticed that? When something freaks you out all your senses heighten. Right then, I could see perfectly, even though I was laying in the complete darkness after I turned Max's lamp off for her. I could have probably heard a pin drop on another continent. I could practically smell Dr. M's shampoo from down the hall. All my sense were on hyper drive and I was just starting to calm down.

I heard the shower turn off, some rustling in the bathroom, then the door opened and feet began shuffling down the hall. I heard her open each door, checking on us like she does every morning. As she opened the door the Max's room I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I'm sure she smiled at the sight of us, like she always does. I had to fight the urge to pull away from Max. For some reason, having Dr. M see me holding her makes me uncomfortable. I don't know why. It's like I'm doing something I shouldn't, when really it tickles her to death to see us. Now, I'm sure if she ever walked in on us kissing she'd probably have a problem with it, but for now, she seems fine.

I finally drifted to sleep after that.

* * *

**Yeah, you likey? **

**Iggy: The next chapter is actually Thanksgiving. **

**Me: Which is why in an idea world it would be up today. But, you never know. -shrugs- **

**Iggy: So...**

**Me: Happy Gobble Gobble day! **

**R&R?!**


	13. Thanksgiving!

**Happy Thanksgiving again!! :) Here's the RDG Thanksgiving. :) **

**Thanks to: Saint and Fang, my wonderful betas that still beta-ed even though it's Thanksgiving. :) They're mcawesomene!**

**Dedication: All you loverly reviewers! I'm very thankful for all of you! -huggles you all- You get a free virtual cook with each review!! -sniffle- **

**Iggy: -sighs- Here come the tears...**

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

I opened my eyes slowly, aware of somebody standing over me. Before I could process what was happening there was a flash and footsteps running out of the room. I jumped up and did a 360 of the room only in enough time to see the door slam closed. I looked over to see Fang still sound asleep beside me. I debated for a while whether or not to go back to sleep, then finally settled on getting up. It was almost eight in the morning. And it was Thanksgiving. My stomach dropped when I remembered our last Thanksgiving. At Anne's in Virginia. I shuddered, then dropped the thought and walked over to my closet. It was a walk-in, so I went in and changed into my Thanksgiving attire. A shirt that said 'Happy Thanksgiving' with a cornucopia on it, jeans and my favorite sneakers.

When I walked out of the closet, Fang was just waking up. I walked over and kneeled down by the bed, planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"Good morning." He grinned. I smiled.

"Happy Thanksgiving." I said, then put on a serious look. "Now get your butt up so we can help mom."

He smirked, but pulled himself up out of the bed, then we went downstairs to help her prepare the meal.

I gaped at how much she already had done. The turkey was in the crock pot, the ham in the oven, the eggs were boiling on the on the stove, Ella was finishing up one of the deserts and Mom was working on another.

"Oh, good, you two are up." Mom said, looking at us and grinning. "Want to help?"

I nodded and she nodded towards the boiling eggs.

"Turn that burner off, take them off the stove, pour out the hot water, replace it with cool water, let 'em cool then you can peel them." She ordered.

I walked over to the stove and switched the burner off then did as she told. Once they were cool enough, Fang and I began peeling off the outer-shell-thing into the trash. Every once and again we'd peel it the wrong way and tear some of the skin off, so Mom told us we could eat those. After that, we cut them in half, took the yellow stuff out and put it into a bowl, then sat out all the halves on a plate. Ella showed us how to make the devilled eggs filling, and we did so perfectly. After that we filled each little egg with a good amount of filling and topped it off with paprika. They looked so good it took all my will power not to gobble them all up. The turkey and ham smelled wonderful as well.

"Max, Ella, Fang, why don't you three work on the Oreo dirt cake. I'm going to call and see who all is coming." Mom said. She walked into the living room and Ella turned to us.

"How do we make Oreo dirt cake?" I asked. Ella grinned and began spouting out orders and listing things we needed to get. We put them all on a relatively clean space on the counter. Ella continued telling us what to do, just watching us. Not really helping in any way. Soon, for some reason, this made me mad. Ticked for just a second, I threw a spoonful of cool whip in Ella's face. She gaped at me, as did Fang.

"Maybe you should help out." I said smugly and continued making the dessert. Next thing I know, I have a face full of cool whip. I could hear Fang cracking up behind me, and Ella trying to hide her laughter. I growled, wiping the cool whip out of my eyes, and turned to them. Fang stopped laughing, or tried to, and Ella looked scared for her life.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Els." I assured her. She moved behind Fang. I must be freaking scary. I wiped a handful of cool whip off my face and smeared it in Fang's face.

"What was that for?" He exclaimed.

"Your face looked too…clean. I decided you needed something white and creamy like us." I grinned, which earned me a smack in the back of the head. Ow…

"I leave you three in here for five minutes to make a phone call…" I heard Mom sigh behind us and turned around to face her.

"Um…Girls just wanna have fun…?" I tried. She gave me…the look. You know, the mom look. The look all mom's have to perfect before they have kids that tells you 'that's a load of crap and both of us know it, now tell the truth before I send an army of penguins to attack you and leave your rotting carcass for the vultures'. At least that's what it said to me.

Ella's turn. "Kids will be kids." She said, well, more like asked.

"Try again." Mom said, smiling.

"We better clean this up otherwise you'll kick our sorry butts to next week, ground us for eternity and not let us eat Thanksgiving dinner?" Fang asked.

"Spot on." Mom dropped her smile. "Hurry up and finish the dessert."

She walked out. I went over to the sink and washed my face off.

Do you know how bad it hurts to get cool whip in your eye? Pretty dang bad! Fang and Ella cleaned their faces off while I wiped cool whip off the counter and floor, then went back to put Oreo crumbs on the top of the Oreo dirt cake. It looked delicious.

"Now what?" I asked as Ella sat the dessert in the fridge.

"Well, we could always try to help with something else so maybe she won't kill us…We could make the stuffing." Ella said. Fang and I nodded with an 'okay' and she grabbed the box of stuffing off the counter.

An hour later the stuffing was done, the mashed potatoes were done and we had successfully made banana pudding without making a big, huge mess. I walked into the living room where Mom was making call after call seeing what relatives were going to be coming over.

"Who's coming so far?" I asked after she hung up.

"No one. They're all going to your aunt's house." She said. "But that's fine. I think this house is crowded enough with you and the flock."

I sighed. I didn't really want any of my relatives coming, since I don't know any of them and they don't know anything about me. Heck, I don't even know if they know that I exist.

"Well, Ella, Fang and I made the stuffing, potatoes and banana pudding. Less for you to do now." I beamed. She smiled and went back into the kitchen as Fang walked out.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked. I nodded and sat down on the couch. Why did that sentence fill me with dread? What was this about? He's not going to suddenly decide that he doesn't want me anymore, is he? Grr, he started this, _I _should get to end it. That is, if it ever ends.

He sat down beside me and turned to me, his face serious.

"I have a very serious and very important question for you." He stated, at which point my heart started pounding. This can either be good or bad or totally screw up any plan I had for the future. I mentally slapped myself, how could it do that?! We're just fifteen, it's not like he's going to propose! I hope…Or do I want him to? Wait, no! I love him, but we're just fifteen!

"Yeah?" I asked. He took a deep breath and I braced myself for the oncoming question.

"If Mr. Krabs is a crab, how is Pearl a whale?" He asked suspiciously. I let out my breath and rolled my eyes at him.

"She's adopted." I told him. "That explains so much." He whispered.

"You're an idiot." I informed him. "You know that?"

"Well, you've told me so much I'm beginning to think so." He said. I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

* * *

"What're you thankful for this Thanksgiving?" He whispered a little bit later. We were laying on the couch, me in his lap. He ran his hand absentmindedly up and down my arm.

"That the flock is safe. That we have a roof over our head and plenty of food to eat." I replied. "What about you?"

"Same thing." He breathed. "But you want to know something I'd be really thankful for?"

For some reason, I was completely expecting the next words that came out of this mouth.

"If you gave me that disc."

I smirked, then quickly turned it into a soft smile, and looked at him.

"Save the miracles for Christmas, Fang. You're never getting that disc." I said.

"Why not?"

"Because, we could become ten-thousand dollars richer thanks to that. Do you really want to take that from me?"

"Yes. You're not sending that in to AFV if you enjoy living and breathing." He threatened.

"Max, Fang, can you come help us in here?" Ella called from the kitchen. I stood up and made my way towards the kitchen.

"We're not done discussing this." Fang informed me. I shrugged.

* * *

After hours of cooking and preparing the meal, it was _finally_ time to eat. We all sat down at the over loaded kitchen table, our mouth's watering. Gazzy looked like he was about to pounce on the turkey.

"Okay, I know you all want to eat, but why don't we first go around the table and say what we're thankful for. Sound alright to you all?" Mom asked. The flock nodded, even though I know they were dieing to dig in. "Ella, you start."

"I'm thankful for…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." She said matter-of-factly. Gazzy was next.

"I'm thankful that I'm alive and that Dr. M and Ella and Max and Fang cooked all this yummy looking food."

Next was Ig, "I'm thankful that I decided to come back to the flock after I found my parents, otherwise I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now about to eat this meal that smells wonderful."

Nudge, "I'm thankful for Max and Fang and Iggy and Angel and Gazzy and Ella and Dr. M. And I'm thankful that Dr. M let us stay here even though we made it so crowded, and I'm thankful that Max let us stay here instead of staying on the run and I'm thankful that we're not on the run anymore and I'm thankful for Hannah Montana--"

"Okay, Nudge, you went too far there." Iggy stopped her. "Take back the Hannah thing."

"Why? Hannah's awesome!" She protested. Iggy gagged and acted like he just died.

"Ignore him Nudge, Angel your turn." I said.

"I'm thankful for Max and Fang for keeping us alive, and for Dr. Martinez for letting us stay here. And I'm thankful that we're all safe and happy and together and not split up and that Max and Fang are finally together like we've wanted them to be for so long so now it's like a real family with a mommy and daddy that love each other."

I was almost in tears. Angel could be a demon spawn at times, but she has those moments where she just moves you to tears. I smiled at her from across the table, then it was Fang's turn.

"What everyone else said, minus Hannah." He said solemnly. Everyone laughed, then it was my turn.

"Um, I'm thankful that everyone's safe and that Mom let us stay here. And that Stacey's gone." I said. Mom smiled at us all.

"I'm thankful that you all are here and safe." Mom said. Her eyes were tearing up, as I'm sure mine were after Angel's thankful speech. "Dig in."

I must say, the food was AH-MAY-ZING!

* * *

**Have a happy gobble gobble day! **

**R&R if you want a cookie!!**

**Also, did anyone else see Boys Like Girls perform at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?! Loved them!!**


	14. Family Time!

**11 days until Christmas!!! AHHH!!! -happy dances- **

**Iggy: Dang...This Christmas is coming fast. **

**Me: I KNOW! It's so, awesome!! I also only have, technically, two days of school left. :) And tomorrow I don't have band! **

**Iggy: Why? **

**Me: We have to load the truck. Anyway, let's just get on with this chapter which took me almost two weeks to write! Grr...I think it's worth it. Saint said it was McAwesomenetastical or something along those lines, let's see if she's right, shall we? **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Max Ride, Santa's reindeer, _Miracle on 34th Street_, or anything else that sounds like I don't own it. **

**Claimer: I own all of Max's relatives, not including Dr.M and Ella. :) **

**Thanks to: My epical betas Saint&Fang and my super epical--OHEMGEE!!! ~Rudolph the rednosed reindeer!~ Sorry, that song just came on...Okay, anyway, thanks to my uber-epical readers/reviewers for sticking with me this long and not yelling at me to update. (SO SORRY!!) **

* * *

Why does Christmas time always put people in a good mood? I mean, everyone I've been around has been happy, giddy with joy. The other day I caught Fang laughing. _Fang _was _laughing! _It's just not natural…

Sure, its' only the 12th and there's 13 days till Christmas, but heck, it's December! There's even snow on the ground!

Okay, now you're probably wondering, how is there snow on the ground in _Arizona_?! Simple explanation: Every Christmas Mom and Ella go to Mom's mom's house in Montana for Christmas. This year was no different, other than the fact that we had to stay with my aunt Margie and her family this year because my grandma's house was not big enough to fit all eight of us in it.

"Max? Earth to Maximum Ride! Mom wants us to help with the tree." Ella said, waving her hand in front of my face. I swatted it away and stood up.

"What?" I asked.

"Mom wants us to help with the Christmas tree." Ella repeated slowly, as if I were stupid. Which I'm not. She grabbed my arm and began dragging me downstairs to the living room which was busy with people running up and down the steps and adjusting the big tree standing at the edge of the room. My uncle Kevin and cousin Mark were brushing snow off the branches, so I guessed they had just gotten back from picking the tree.

It was big and looked nice in the living room against the light beige wall. My other cousin, Carmen, was starting a fire in the fireplace. I was glad because it was freezing in the room. We had been here since the first of December, so I had gotten to get to know my cousins pretty well by now. I shared a room with Carmen and Ella the whole stay, Fang and Iggy shared a room with my other cousin, Max(Yes, it gets quite confusing), and Gazzy, Angel and Nudge share the guest bedroom.

Carmen is only a year older than me, sixteen, and she's pretty cool. She has dark brown hair, like most of the Martinez's(except me), and brown eyes. She's a writer, she writes poems a lot. Every night when it's time to go to bed she's up at her desk with a book light writing some kind of poem. She's read a few to Ella and I, they were really good. Happy, cheerful. Awesome.

Max, on the other hand, is sort of an outcast like me. Well, by the way he looks. He has medium brown hair and gray eyes. He's twelve, like Nudge, and I swear I see some sparks flying between them when they're together.

My other cousins, Mark, Gabriella, and Lesley, are all picture perfect Martinez children. Mark, brown hair, brown eyes, and eighteen years old; Gabriella, brown and brown, and eight; Lesley, brown and brown, and four. My aunt Margie, same. Uncle Kevin, though, must be who Max took after. Kevin has dirty blonde hair, kind of like me(sometimes), and gray eyes.

I jumped as someone wrapped their arms around me. A deep, quiet chuckle sounded by my ear and I calmed down.

"What're you doing?" I asked Fang. He squeezed me slightly then let his hands slide down to my waist.

"You looked cold." He informed me. He released his hold around my waist and grabbed my hand, leading me over to a spot beside the fire. He sat down and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms securely around me as if I'd get sucked away. I leaned against his hard, muscular chest, loving the feeling of his strong arms around me. I buried my face in his neck, inhaling his sweet, earth and cinnamon scent.

A camera flash just _had _to ruin the moment. I jumped up to see Ella with a camera in her hands, Carmen and Gabriella giggling beside her.

"You two are so cute together!" She squealed, snapping another picture. Though I'm sure she won't want to use that one for the pure fact that by then I was glaring at her. The only thing keeping her alive was the fact that Fang still had a hold of me. I tried to jump at her, but Fang kept a firm hold on me.

"Max, honey, calm down." He whispered gently in my ear. My fists clenched and my jaw tightened, my eyes narrowed even more. I'm sure I was about to grow fangs and start spitting venom.

"Max," Fang repeated soothingly. "It was just a picture. Calm down, baby." He kissed my ear lightly, then my neck. That calmed me down a significant amount. Enough for the three girls to run away still breathing. Fang got me calmed down enough so I could think straight again, now I'm wondering why I snapped on Ella for taking the picture…

"Because you're impatient, rude, bossy and arrogant." Fang guessed when I asked. I rolled my eyes and slapped him playfully.

"So very funny." I muttered. He smiled(No, not a grin, a full fledged _smile!_)and pecked my lips, causing me to smile as well.

Mom walked over at the point and asked us if we wanted to help decorate the tree. I was on my feet in less than a millisecond, pulling Fang up beside me. Mom chuckled at my obvious enthusiasm and we followed her over to where the others were pulling lights and garland out of a box. Mark and Kevin started putting the lights on as the rest of us pulled out all the garland(there was a _lot _of it).

"Max, hand me that strand of garland." Uncle Kevin said. That of course earned a "Which one?" out of me and Max.

Uncle Kevin sighed. "Okay, for the rest of…well, of the year, Maximum will be called Max. Max, we'll just use you're middle name, Alex. Maybe that will lessen the confusion."

Ma--Er, Alex and I nodded.

"Now, Max, will you hand me that strand of garland?" He repeated. I grabbed the garland he was pointing at and gave it to him, then went back to pull more out of the box. They had a lot of garland…

* * *

After we decorated the tree, which involved me being tied up in some extra garland, the adults went to the kitchen, leaving us kids with virtually nothing to do in the living room.

"Want to go upstairs and watch a movie?" Fang murmured in my ear. I looked up at him, then at everyone else. Well, everyone that remained.

"Where'd everyone go?" I asked. Carmen, who was practically the only one left, starting listing the kids and telling where they ran off to. "Gaz, Angel, Lesley, and Gabby ran off to play some board game, Alex took Nudge to show her a video game, Ella went to help in the kitchen and that leaves me, you, Fang and Ig here."

It never occurred to me how well the kids were getting along here. I mean, usually it takes them a while to adjust, but we've only been here a couple days and their already abandoning me for my cousins.

"It's because they know you approve of these people." Fang whispered to me, as if reading my mind.

"How did you…?" I trailed off, expecting him to know exactly what I was going to ask. And he did, or at least he didn't let on that he had no clue what I was talking about.

"I'm just that good." He said, smirking. I rolled my eyes. "So, about that movie?"

"Okay." I agreed. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand, leading me upstairs. We entered the room that he shared with Ig and Alex, and I could tell who slept where. Fang's bed was, of course, black, and it was actually clean. Iggy's bed was on the other side of the room, the sheets were multicolored and his duvet was solid white, it was also a complete mess since he didn't make it this morning. Alex's was blue, his favorite color, and it was against the wall at the end of the room, neat and tidy.

Fang lead me to his bed, which was closest to the plasma TV hanging on the wall.(If you haven't noticed, my relatives have some serious money.) He grabbed the remote, flicked on the TV and started going through the channels. I sat down on his bed and looked around the room. The walls were a dull, dark blue. Sort of depressing, but still pretty. In one corner was Alex's closet and beside that his chest, which was probably now home to Fang and Iggy's clothes.

At the foot of Iggy's bed was a bench. Why was it there? I have no clue, but it was overloaded with dirty clothes and a…I don't even think I want to know what that was…The bench at the foot of Alex's bed was pretty much the same deal, but Fang's was actually clean. All of his dirty clothes were probably the only ones in the hamper on the back of the door.

Fang sat down next to me and put an arm around me.

"_Miracle on 34__th__ Street _just came on. Want to watch it?" Fang asked. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite remember what it was about.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"It's that movie where they try to send the Macy's Santa to the nuthouse because he thinks he's the real Santa Claus." He informed me. I nodded, remembering now.

"Yes, let's watch that." I smiled.

"Because you can relate so well?" He joked. I rolled my eyes playfully and slapped him.

I think I drifted off sometimes during the movie, because I went from seeing Santa in court to seeing chinchillas and penguins singing "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas", followed by the Beatles singing "The 12 Days After Christmas".

Fang shook me awake a few minutes into an uber-epic game of battleship between me and Blitzen.

"Why do you always fall asleep in the middle of a good movie?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Because Santa's reindeer wanted to play a game of battleship and random animals wanted to sing Christmas songs to me." I guessed. He looked at me like I was on drugs(I've been getting that look often)and shook his head.

"Seriously, what are you on?" He laughed.

"Pot." I said with a straight face. He looked at me and saw my face.

"Max, you better be joking, otherwise I'll knock you into last month." He said seriously, at which point I cracked up.

"Of course I'm joking. I just wanted to see what you'd say." I smiled. He rolled his eyes.

"And what would you say if I were sleeping with your mom and sister, and I'm secretly doing Iggy on the side?" He asked genuinely wondering. I pondered his question for a moment.

"Kinky." I finally said. He started laughing, a sound that I loved, and pressed his lips to mine. I started to kiss back, then pulled away.

"You were joking about doing my mom, sister and Iggy, right?" I asked, just to check. Fang laughed again and nodded. I smiled and kissed him.

* * *

**~Iggy's POV~**

I sat on the couch beside Carmen. We were watching, well she was watching and I was listening, to _A Christmas Story_. That was my favorite movie. I looked up to that kid, I know I never would've gotten a BB gun for Christmas. Actually, I've had a similar instance…

When I was eleven Jeb asked us what we wanted for Christmas, Max said a puppy. She never got that. Fang said a pencil(I really am wondering why…), he got said pencil, he was ecstatic. Gasman, Angel and Nudge all sided with Max on the puppy, but me. I asked Jeb for bomb supplies. His reply?

"_You'll blow your brains out, kid!" _

I swear, Ralphie and I have almost lived the same life. Well, other than the fact that I'm a freak bird kid and he's a normal boy.

I felt Carmen scoot a little closer to me. She had been doing that since the movie started. I didn't question why, I mean either she likes me, or Gazzy came in without me knowing and he keeps breaking wind. I like to think it's the first one. Her hand brushed mine as she adjusted herself and my heart skipped a beat.

_What the heck? _I thought to myself. _Why am I acting like this? _

I shook the thought away and focused my thoughts back to the movie, but my thoughts eventually wandered back to Carmen. Fang's described her to me, and from his description she's beautiful. I love the sound of her voice, like honey on butter…Or something along those lines. Her hand brushed mine again, soft and warm. I took a chance and grabbed it. She didn't pull away, she didn't seem creeped out, she actually gave my hand a soft squeeze then he brought it up to her face where I felt her smiling. I smiled back, feeling something I had never felt before. A warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, like…a happy feeling. A happy feeling I wasn't familiar with…

Love?

Or infatuation…?

Whatever it was, it felt great.

* * *

**_That _my friends, is what we here at the Randomness Clubhouse call Cargy. :) **

**Iggy: You make me sound all sappy...And what about F--**

**Me: SHUSH!! -sighs- That will come, Iggles, you just wait...Same for the..._other _one. **

**Iggy: -glares- You better not. **

**Me: OH, but I will. **

**So, anyway, how'd ya'll like it? Also, wish me luck at the concert Thursday! I'm starting to get nervous...Gah...Now, I'm off to practice.**

**R&R!**


	15. Cougar

**First, I'd like to say the poem at the beginning of this chapter belongs to Stranger_Danger101 on deviantart, not me. Second, hope you enjoy! **

**Thanks to: Saint&Fang, Stranger_Danger101(Lyric), and Celina and Erica.**

**Dedicated to: MG because, well, just 'cause. **

* * *

"Black holes open up and I feel like I'm being swallowed  
I feel as though my heart was torn open and hollowed  
Tears fell from my eyes and the blood from my veins followed

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow's never going to come  
I can't help but want to forget the place that I come from  
And run a little faster feeling the air escape from my lungs.

The first kiss was perfect but the second was dangerously toxic  
I let myself go, let myself escape and I'm afraid I've lost it  
I didn't just drop my lifesaver over the edge, I tossed it.

Now there's no way out of this, no direction for me to go  
I feel like I'm going way too fast and life is passing too slow  
I just can't seem to let go of everything to you I owed.

And now I'm all alone  
No place to call home  
Don't want to move on  
I've been gone all along." Carmen recited from the piece of paper in her hands. That is usually the complete opposite of what she writes. "I wrote that last month." She told us.

"What happened then?" I asked. She looked down.

"That's when my boyfriend of four years broke up with me." She said shyly.

"Oh…" That explains the depressing poetry.

"I like it." Ella said. "It's just sad and depressing enough to be great poetry. I can practically see your heart being torn to shreds, each piece dropping into the bottom of your stomach, shattering into tinier pieces with impact."

"Nice imagery." Carmen commented as she put her paper back into her poetry notebook. "Now, the second reason I brought you in here…I wanted to talk to Max about something."

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well…It's about…Iggy." She said sheepishly. I raised my eyebrows, and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Ella frown and turn pale. I shook it off.

"What about Iggy? Am I sensing a small crush?" I grinned. Carmen looked down and nodded shyly. "Ooh, my cousin's a cougar." Carmen slapped my arm and I laughed.

"I'm only a year older than him…It's not that unusual. Look, just, do you think that he'd…I don't know, like me, like that?" She asked slowly.

"I say go for it. I mean, Ig's a teenage boy, he'll go for anything that is female and has a pulse." I said, and after a minute, added, "Actually, forget the pulse, he'd probably just go for anything female. If he gets desperate enough even that boundary will fly."

Carmen's eyes widened.

"Please save him from that. _Please._ I'd hate to wake up one day and find out that my boyfriend was raped in his sleep by Iggy." I begged. Carmen nodded, smiling. She got up and left the room. I chuckled to myself and looked over at Ella. She was looking at the floor, her brown hair a curtain over her face.

"You okay, El?" I asked. She didn't look up, but I heard a sniffle from her direction and she wiped her eyes. "Ella, are you crying?"

I got up and walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"What's wrong Ella?" Ella just shook her head and turned away from me. I sighed. Don't you just hate it when people act like that? "Ella Marie Martinez, tell me what's wrong right now." I ordered.

She looked up at me, silent tears running down her face. "My heart has been torn to shreds, each piece falling to the bottom of my stomach, shattering into tinier pieces with impact. And I blame you."

With that, she left. She stormed past me and out the door, slamming it behind her. I sat down on the edge of my bed, wondering what I did to her. Did I say something? Did I accidentally mention something I wasn't supposed to?

Then it all clicked. The reason why she paled when Carmen mentioned her crush on Iggy, why she was crying, and why she blamed me. Because I told Carmen to go for it. I sighed. How was I supposed to know my sister liked him, too? Why am I getting blamed? What the frig?! It's almost freaking Christmas, can't everything go right for once _without _me screwing something up? Obviously not.

* * *

**~Carmen's POV~**

I knocked softly on the boys' door. My hands were clammy and sweaty and you could probably see me shaking. Why was I so nervous? I mean, it's not like I've never had a crush before. Although, I haven't ever really asked a guy out. I gulped, glad that Iggy was blind.

I took a deep breath as the door opened only to reveal….Fang. I sighed.

"Carmen?" He questioned, confusion written all over his face.

"Is Iggy in here?" I asked, trying to hide the quiver in my voice. What the heck is wrong with me?!

"Um, no, he went to your room, to look for you." Fang told me. "Am I completely missing something with you two because I feel so out of the loop here."

I shook my head and turned, going back to my room. But, I was stopped by what felt like a brick wall in the middle of the hallway. Dang, Ig has a hard chest and abs.

"Carmen?" He asked, one hand on my arm. I nodded.

"Yes?" I asked, blushing slightly. What the heck?! I growled inwardly.

"Um, I was just wondering if, maybe, you, uh, wanted to, erm, uh, er," Iggy started nervously.

"If I wanted to…?" I prodded.

"Um…" He gulped. "If you wanted to, er…"

"He wants to know if you will go out with him but he's just too much of a baby to just _spit it out_." Fang finally finished for him. A smile spread across my face.

"I'd love to." I told him. Iggy smiled as well. Maybe this isn't as hard as I thought it would be.

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

"Max! Max!" Angel shouted, running into my room. I sat up on my bed and looked at her.

"What?"

"Who do you think this sounds like?" Nudge asked, following Angel into the room. She held an ear bud from Alex's iPod to me and I put it in my ear. A song started playing.

"I don't know." I said honestly, going through all of the female singers I knew.

"Well, do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Angel asked.

"It's a girl." I told them. "Beyonce?" I tried, pulling out a random name.

Angel cracked up, but Nudge looked kind of hurt.

"Who is it?" I asked. Nudge took the iPod back and Angel stopped laughing long enough to say, "It's Justin Beiber. A fifteen year old guy from Canada."

I almost started laughing. "Fifteen? Dang, you'd think he'd hit puberty by now."

Angel laughed harder.

"He's, like, a soprano!" She exclaimed.

"I'd expect that high of a voice from an eleven year old, but fifteen? Dang, even Ig has a deeper voice than _that_." I laughed.

"He sounds like Nudge singing!" Angel told me.

"What's he look like?" I asked. Nudge held up the iPod where a picture of Justin Beiber covered the screen. "Cute Canadian soprano…" I muttered.

"I know, right?!" Nudge exclaimed happily. She took the iPod back, staring at it dreamily.

"Nudge, he's too old for you." I told her. She pouted. I sighed, what has the world come to where guys sing like girls, but still get all the girls…

* * *

**Sorry if you like Justin Beiber, but I'm not a fan of his. He sounds like a freaking girl. **

**The little conversation about him where Max said he was Beyonce? Yeah, inspired off a conversation over his song with my mom. -nod- Yeah...It's sad. **

**He puts all Canadians to shame. **

**Poor Canadians. **

**He's the only one I don't like...**

**Anyway, hope you liked it! **

**R&R!!**


	16. Merry Christmas!

**Finally, an update! Though, I'm sure I should probably update something else. -shrug- I will later. I promise, everything will be updated by 2010. :) Just work with me, I'm _so _sorry. Just, stuff happening and such and...yeah...**

**So, I hope you all had a great Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. I did. I got a new laptop and such...So, yeah. I'll just get on to the chapter. **

**Thanks to: Saint and Fang**

**Dedicated to: My epic Canadian friends MG and Mack, also Lyric, my little Aussie. -grins-

* * *

**

I swung my spork through the air, striking the Pillsbury Doughboy in the arm. He returned the blow with his can of cinnamon rolls, but I neatly ducked. He swung at me again, but before he could hit me I grabbed a conveniently placed rope and swung myself onto the top of a passing FedEx truck. I saw the Doughboy glare at me before he pulled out a machine gun made out of biscuit tubes. He pointed at me and several biscuits flew towards me. I fell to my stomach on top of the truck as the biscuits flew over me.

Suddenly, the FedEx truck came to an abrupt halt. I had to grab onto the edge so I wouldn't fall off. I looked around, trying to find the Pillsbury Doughboy to see if he was the source of the stop. Instead of seeing Mr. Pillsbury running towards the truck, I saw a large amount of squirrels descending upon me with bronze stroons. Yes, you read that right, stroons. A combination of a spoon and a straw!

There was one squirrel, right in the middle, coming straight at me, fiery fury in its bead little eyes, holding a hockey stick. I decided to name it Mackison-Jabriella. I don't know why…

Mackison swung her hockey stick at me and I ducked coolly, throwing my spork in her direction. She jumped over it and pulled another hockey stick from behind her back. She flipped it in her small rodent hands. Freaking ninja squirrel.

"Max! Max, wake up!" Angel yelled. I groaned, trying to get the seven year old to stop bouncing on my stomach.

Soon her voice was drowned out by Nudge as she came in screaming, "Max! It's Christmas! Get up!" I felt the two of them tug at my arms, but I overpowered them and curled up under my blanket.

"Max!" Angel groaned, exasperated. "It's Christmas! Merry Christmas! Wake up!"

I put my pillow over my head, masking their shouts at me to get up with soft, cool, quietness.

Now, I'm sure you all doubt my sanity right now, but I wanted to see what that fnicking ninja squirrel had up her…tail…er…yeah.

I let out a small whine as someone ripped the pillow form my grasp.

"Aw, poor Maxxie-kinz doesn't get to sleep in on Christmas," Fang's voice teased by my ear, causing me to jump slightly. He chuckled deeply and grabbed my arm.

"Come on, Maxxie, get up." He sighed.

"FLARG day, it ain't." I muttered, still half asleep, trying to conjure up the ninja squirrel again.

"Yoda, nor Mark Chang, you're not." He laughed; wrapping an arm around my waist and helping me stand up.

"NO! Mackison my ninja squirrel," was the first thing I was consciously aware of coming out of my mouth, and I blushed furiously. Fang just laughed and kissed my cheek and walked me into the hall, helping me wake up a bit.

I shook my head, shaking away the sleep.

"So, do I get presents now?" I asked Fang.

"If you tell me more about this…ninja squirrel…" He smirked. My face heated up.

"She's a ninja squirrel. That simple, she works for the Pillsbury Doughboy, let's just go downstairs." I said quickly and descended down the stairwell, Fang following behind me.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Aunt Margie crowed. I smiled as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug, and then attempted to hug Fang. The holidays may soften him up a bit, but not that much. I saw him stiffen when she wrapped her arms around him. I stifled a laugh and Aunt Margie turned around and wrapped her arms around Ella as she walked up to us.

My uncle Kevin walked in at that point, carrying a load of gifts.

"Here's some we didn't bring down yet." He told my aunt, and then he turned to us. "¡Feliz Navidad!" He exclaimed. "¡Abramos algunos presentes!"

Even though I am part Mexican, my Spanish was a little rusty, so you can guess how lost I was during the next conversation between my aunt and my uncle.

"¡Sí, sí! ¡Vayamos a la guarida!" My aunt said. To which my uncle replied with, "¿Están todos los presentes adentro allí? ¿Hay más en el ático?"

"No, son todos adentro allí." Aunt Margie said.

"Margie, Kevin, usted está confundiendo a niños." Mom said as she walked into the room, gesturing to me and Fang.

"Max puede ser un Martinez, pero ella tiene todavía aprender español." Ella spoke up.

"Ése correcto, estos cabritos nunca realmente tenía una ocasión de aprender otra lengua." Mom told them.

My best guess was that they were explaining that Fang and I had no clue what they were talking about. I was as lost as a redneck at a fashion show. Aw, that was a mean simile using a very rude stereotype. Oh well.

"¡Oh! Estamos apesadumbrados. No sabíamos." Aunt Margie said apologetically.

"Incluso no realicé que había comenzado a hablar español." Uncle Kevin laughed.

"¿Entonces porqué usted no para? Usted sabe, va de nuevo a inglés." Ella said.

"Oh, right, so sorry." Uncle Kevin said, turning to me and Fang. "I hadn't even realized I had started speaking Spanish. So, let's go to the den and open some presents, shall we?"

* * *

I sat cross-legged on the black leather couch beside Fang, who had an arm wrapped protectively around me, as if any second an army of penguins were going to crash through the window and whisk me away to their evil Doughy leader in the back of a FedEx van. Iggy sat on my other side, which his arm surreptitiously around Carmen. Aunt Margie handed out everyone's gifts.

I ended up with four or five presents stacked up on the floor in front of me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge and Gazzy had the same amount as me. I saw a flicker of envy in Gasman's eyes when he looked over to see that his little sister had gotten more presents than him. I'd have to talk to him about that later. I was just happy someone actually got me something, that doesn't usually happen, especially not when your only family is five other mutant children with a very, very low budget; although, last year, before we went to Mom's house, Fang did surprise me. He had somehow, my guess was stealing, gotten me a beautiful necklace. It had a silver chain, and on the end was a heart with a cross inside.

I brought my hand up to my neck and played with the necklace without thinking. I saw Fang smile out of the corner of my eye when he saw what I was doing. I don't think I've taken this necklace off since he gave it to me.

"Okay," Aunt Margie said. "Have at 'em!"

Instantly all the little kids started tearing open their presents. I grabbed one off the top, a small box wrapped in red and white candy cane striped wrapping paper. It had a sticker on it that read: "To Max, Love Aunt Margie & Uncle Kevin. Merry Christmas!" I carefully ripped a corner.

"It's just wrapping paper, Max. You won't hurt it." Fang chuckled in my ear. I rolled my eyes and finished un-wrapping it, revealing a candy cane striped box. Upon opening that, I found a silver jewel filled necklace with an M on it, along with two small, diamond earrings. I gasped in spite of myself. Aunt Margie turned to me.

"You like it?" She asked, smiling widely. I nodded.

"I love it." I stated, grinning. "But…I-I don't have my ears pierced."

"We'll take you tomorrow." Mom piped up. She smiled at me. "We wouldn't want to put those to waste."

I smiled and grabbed another present. It was small, too, but bigger than the other one. I opened it and found another necklace. It was silver, with a small golden peace sign at the end and a silver plate behind it that had a peace sign in the corner and said 'Peace on Earth'. I smiled again and sit it beside me with the other necklace/earring combo.

The next box I grabbed was heavier. It was from my mom. When I opened it I gasped. I was shocked my mom spent so much on me. Who knows how much that cost? I opened the box and pulled out the small, black, shiny camera. It was one of those with the touch screen.

"Wow, Mom, you shouldn't have…Really, how much did this even cost?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Price doesn't matter, Max." She told me. "It's Christmas, honey. I thought you might like it."

"I do. Thank you." I turned to my aunt and uncle. "And thanks for the jewelry."

I looked over at Fang who had just opened his second present. His first one was sitting beside him, a ring with his name engraved on it. He was holding his second one with shock on his face.

"A new laptop?" He asked, looking up at my mom.

"Well, we know who splurged this year." Aunt Margie laughed.

"Your old one looked sort of beat up, not to mention how you're always complaining about how slow it is." Mom said, smiling widely.

"Dr.M," Fang started in shock. "This is a twenty-two hundred dollar tablet laptop."

"Like I told Max, it's Christmas." She chuckled.

I grabbed another present marked 'From Ella and the flock'. I opened it, and sent a glare Ella's way. She caught me glaring at her and smiled when she saw what I had in my hands.

Sitting in the brown box in my lap was a small black, silky, sparkly dress and a pair of stilettos. A note was on top that read, 'This is a two part gift. Meet us outback tonight at 9. Wear this.' I closed the box and sat it down on the floor. I looked over to see Fang had opened something similar, only it looked like he got a suit, not a dress. I wondered what those little buggers were up to.

I opened my last present, a make-up kit. It was from Carmen. I looked over at her and she smiled. Fang looked down and saw what I was holding and cracked up laughing. Carmen looked confused, bless her heart.

* * *

That night after an uneventful dinner, I escaped to my room. It was unusually empty. Usually, either Ella or Carmen were in there, but I guessed Ella was working on whatever she had planned out back, and Carmen, I knew, was downstairs with Iggy. I lay down on my bed with purple and blue swirls covering the sheets and duvet and blue and black polka dots on the pillowcases. I checked the clock. 8:59 PM. I sighed and pulled the brown box out from under my bed.

I pulled the silky dress out of the box and stripped down to my undergarments. (That's such a weird word, 'undergarments'.) I slipped the dress on and swore inwardly when I noticed it only barely came to my knees. The neck was low, as well. It was a sharp V that just barely showed off my cleavage. The necklace Fang gave me last year was, for once, not hidden by my shirt, and sat proudly on my chest, the jewels in the cross gleaming in the light. I smiled.

* * *

Getting outback was a…fun challenge. I tried to get to the backdoor downstairs without anyone seeing me. I was embarrassed enough that the flock, and possibly Fang, was going to see me like this.

After dodging around corners, I finally made it. I slipped out the door quietly, and what I saw in front of me shocked me.  
The gazebo beside the garden was decorated in bright white lights; my aunt probably did that a while ago for the holidays. But inside the gazebo was a table, set for two, with a candle and a bouquet of flowers in the middle. I walked up the steps into the gazebo and saw a piece of paper sitting on the table, beside one of the plates, which had spaghetti piled on it with red sauce and big, round, juicy looking meatballs. My stomach growled just looking at it. It was a good thing I hadn't had that much during dinner, because I was ready to dig into that spaghetti. I picked up the card and read it to myself.

_"Dear Fang and Max,  
_

_The flock and I(Ella)decided that you needed some…time alone. We set up this date for you two, and I promise no one will bother you. Just have fun, eat the lovely dinner Iggy made you, and then there's a surprise in the garden when you're done. ;)  
_

_Have fun,  
Love, _

_Ella&the flock"_

"Looks like Ella stood us up."

I jumped around as Fang walked up behind me. A smile played at his lips as he looked me up and down.

"Don't you think that dress is a little…revealing?" Fang asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You know you like it." I joked. He chuckled.

"I must admit, I do. You look…wow." He said, brushing some of his dark bangs out of his eyes.

"You don't look too bad yourself." I replied, taking in his crisp, dark black jacket over a dark blue button-up with a striped gray, white and black tie. His neatly combed jet black hair fell just over his eyes in a very cute way. His lips curled up in a smile and my heart skipped a beat and I smiled back. He bent down and kissed me gently, then noticed the paper in my hands.

"What's that?" He questioned. I handed it to him and he read it, and then looked back at me, smiling, and said, "So, looks like we've got a date." I nodded, grinning.

He walked over and pulled out my chair for me.

"Such a gentleman," I commented as I sat down. He chuckled again and took his seat in front of me. I picked up my fork and after that, all manners went out the window. The spaghetti was so good! This is the only reason we still keep Iggy around. That and it feels kind of weird without his perverted jokes and his childishness. I use to hate that, but I guess it grew on me.

"Like the spaghetti?" Fang asked, a smile in his voice. I giggled and nodded, looking up at him. He just laughed and continued eating his food.

"So, want to go see what this surprise is?" I asked Fang after we finished our meal. He nodded and stood up, and then he grabbed my hand and helped me up. We walked hand in hand into the garden.

"What do you think it is?" Fang asked me, squeezing my hand and smiling down at me. I shrugged. Fang and I continued walking until we came up on the fourth thing that has made me gasp today.

In front of us was a pink and black checker patterned floor that was surrounded by flowers. A radio sat perched on a table with another note by it. I walked over and read it aloud.

"Have a nice dance. Love Ella and the flock."

I turned back around to Fang as he reached behind me and pressed the play button on the radio. The song that played was slow, soothing. Fang grabbed one of my hands and put the other one on my waist.

"Shall we dance?" He asked. I nodded and smiled a little, putting my other hand on his shoulder. We moved in sync to a perfect rhythm. I never knew Fang could dance like that, heck I didn't know I could dance.

After a while of moving around the dance floor the song changed. Hips Don't Lie by Shakira started playing. We all knew Fang had a slight Shakira fetish, and, unfortunately, Ella knew I could dance like her. (Let's just say I was bored one night and Shakira was on the radio…)  
Fang chuckled when the song started and I cursed as I started dancing, trying to stop myself. If you've ever danced to a Shakira song, you know it's hard to stop once you get the rhythm. Fang raised his eyebrows at me as I danced.

"Wow, Max…you can dance." He said. I pulled myself away from him and started dancing more. I could practically see the drool running down Fang's jaw. I made my way back over to him and put my hands on his shoulders, moving my hips just as Shakira does. Fang put his hands on my waist as I danced, and even though I was tempted to push him away, I didn't. I danced through the rest of the song, and then looked up at Fang, only to see his eyes trained on an area a bit lower than my eyes.

"Ehem, my eyes are up here, not on my chest, Fang." I said. His head shot up and his face turned a dark shade of red. I smirked. "You know, you're kind of cute when you blush."

This, of course, made him blush harder and I kissed his cheek. He smiled at me and kissed my lips.

"Merry Christmas, Max." He whispered in my ear.

"Merry Christmas." I replied, and then smashed my lips against his.

This was easily one of the best Christmases in my 15 years.

Fang and I jumped apart as a camera flashed. I glared at Ella, who was holding up my new camera.

"What happened to no interruptions?" I asked shrewdly.

"That was during dinner, but this was so sweet. And now it's the first picture on your camera!" Ella beamed. I rolled my eyes, but still smiled.

"Bring that thing over here." I told her. She did and we proceeded to take pictures by the dozen. Even though I'm not that photogenic, it was really fun.

Maybe we should live with my cousins…I don't know how we're even going to get Iggy away from Carmen, they've been practically inseparable. Luckily we're staying here till New Years Day. I smiled at the thought. This should be fun.

* * *

**So, first a little bit of a translation. **

**Earlier in the chapter pretty much what they were talking about was presents, then Dr.M came in and told them that Max and Fang didn't know Spanish and then Ella came in and told them to quit talking. You can use a translator if you want it exact...or close to it. **

**Also, tell me what'cha think. :)**

**R&R? **

**And, yeah, no Ig in the comments because he's downstairs(I'm at a friends house)eating my friend out of house and home...-sigh-**


	17. Happy New Year!

**Gah! My New Years resolution? Update more often. What do I not do at all for the first...-grabs phone- 9 days of 2010? UPDATE! -sigh-. But I think I've thought of a few ways I can keep this New Years resolution.**

**Iggy: I'd like to see you update regularly...**

**Me: I just need motivation...grr...I _will _update! -sigh- Maybe. Anyway, let's just get on to this chapter. **

**Warning: There may be a typo with the word 'others' being typed as 'other s', that's what Saint told me. But I couldn't find it, so...yeah. I might've just skipped over it again. And again. And again. Or it could've been something on her computer, I know that they distort things sometimes. -shrug- I dunno. But please excuse that and if you find it, tell me. **

**Thanks to: Saint&Fang, whoever made oranges and orange juice, God for letting it snow here _finally_! (We've only had 2 days of school this week. -grins-)**

**Dedicated to: Taylor Swift and all of my Bloody Wicked McAwesomene reviewers! **

**Now, onto the chapter.**

**

* * *

**

"Oh my gosh! Max, that's _so _pretty! I mean, they're _so _cute! They looked cute in the box and stuff, but once you put them in they're _so _adorable!" Nudge said, rattling off compliments a mile a minute. Sometimes I wonder if she ever breaths. I smiled as she kept talking, explaining every tiny detail of my earrings that she liked. I sighed. She had been doing this for the past two days since I got my ears pierced.

Unlike Mom had promised, we weren't able to go the day after Christmas. Actually, we couldn't go until four days after Christmas thanks to major car troubles and many other excuses including money problems, as my aunt says, a penny saved is a penny earned. (I still don't know how that fit, but she says it quite a bit.)

That was fine with me, though. I was dreading it. I mean, getting a hole punched in my ear did not sound fun in anyway. A good rule of thumb, in my opinion, keep sharp, pointy objects away from any part of your head.

Nudge finally stopped with the empty flattery when she broke into a coughing fit.

"Sorry," she apologized after coughing in my face, her voice hoarse. "Huh, I guess I have a frog in my throat." She rubbed at her throat, as if that would make it feel better.

"Maybe it's just your motor-mouth catching up with you." Fang suggested, walking up behind her. She sent a glare in his direction, but didn't say anything. Probably because she knew he was right. Fang smirked and patted her shoulder while saying, "Why don't you go see if Dr. M can do something for you? I think she's in the kitchen."

Nudge nodded and headed off that way. Fang grinned at me, taking a step closer and putting one of his hands on my waist.

"You really do look beautiful." He said, kissing my cheek. To my great displeasure my face heated up as a light blush spread across it. Fang chuckled. "You're cute, too." He added before leaning down and pressing his lips against mine.

Of course, because she's the nosiest person in the world, my annoying, nosy, 'sweet', and did I mention nosy, little sister walked in and snapped a picture of us. I sighed and turned to her.

"Can you let us kiss just once without having a picture taken, or without you around at all?" I asked. She put a finger on her chin and looked up, crossing her arms.

"Hmm, nope." She finally said, grinning. I rolled my eyes and she laughed. "Jeez, Max, don't be such a stick in the mud. Sometimes you've got to let your hair down. Just remember, a picture's worth a thousand words, but now I have to go tackle my homework from over two weeks ago. Ta Ta for now." She turned on her heel and left.

"Is it just me, or was that sentence filled with clichés?" Fang asked. I shrugged.

"Ella is…Ella." I said.

"And Ella is gone, I doubt she'll be back for some time." He said slyly. I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck. He returned the smile and pressed his lips to mine once again, and luckily, this time, there was not an interruption.

* * *

**~Fang's POV~**

I sighed and clicked the internet button on my laptop screen. Why must life be so boring sometimes. It sucks. One minute you're bored and when you find something to actually do, you run out of time to do it. I stared at the giant word in the middle of my screen. Google. What does that even mean? Why is Google called Google? Hmm…Maybe I'll Google it. And that's just what I did.

"The name "Google" originated from a misspelling of "googol",which refers to 10 to the 100th power, the number represented by a 1 followed by one-hundred zeros. Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb "google", was added to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006, meaning 'to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet.'"

So, Google is officially a verb. I shook my head. That website is seriously starting to freak me out. I mean, sure, they started out as a harmless, amazing search engine, but now they have their own internet server, Google Chrome, which I like much better than Internet Explorer, and they also make phones. Soon they'll be making everything! Google will be the next Itex!

Wait, what the heck am I thinking? I think Max has been slipping some of her drugs into my food or something…Maybe I shouldn't be making out with a druggie. It's starting to rub off on me. Next thing you know, _I'll _be talking to random ninja squirrels. I shook my head. No way would I go down that road again.

"Fang?" I heard Max's voice call from down the hall. I shut off my laptop and popped my head out the door.

"You rang?"

She jumped, not expecting me, causing a chuckle out of me.

"Yeah, do you know what today is?" She asked. I thought for a minute, then shook my head. "Not really. What day is it?"

"New Years Eve! You know, the last day of the year."

I mentally slapped myself.

"Right. I knew that…Just had a mental lapse. I think it's from making out with you after you took all those drugs." I mused. She rolled her eyes and slapped me.

"I don't take drugs. I drink to get my fill, anyway, it's nearly dinner time. And, we're apparently going to have some huge party, but luckily they haven't invited anyone else. So…yeah. I think that's it." She turned on her heel and left.

New Years Eve. So, we were probably going to watch the ball drop in Times Square, no doubt. Then we'll watch as the clock strikes midnight and millions of couples throughout the area begin making out.

Isn't it bad luck to not kiss your girlfriend/fiancée/wife on New Years Eve? And, like, the hope of every single person in the room depends on you? Talk about a pressured kiss. Of course, Max and I aren't the only couple. There's Ig and Carmen and Max's aunt and uncle. I turned and went back into my room. Tonight should be…interesting.

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

"We should've went to New York." Carmen said, sitting down beside Iggy on the couch. Aunt Margie rolled her eyes at her daughter.

"Maybe next year, Carmen." Aunt Margie chuckled. Iggy grabbed Carmen's hand, and I could practically see Ella fuming in the chair across from them. I shook my head, sighing.

"Something wrong, babe?" Fang whispered in my ear. I leaned back on the brown leather loveseat and Fang put an arm around me.

"Do you not see how jealous Ella is of Carmen and Iggy? She looks like she's ready to claw Carmen's eyes out." I whispered in reply. Fang nodded.

"I know. I'm sensing a cat fight in the near future." He muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm worried about them. I mean, think of how this will effect Ella's relationship with her cousin?" I sighed. "This isn't going to end well."

Fang kissed my temple and squeezed my shoulders. "It'll be alright, Max. It'll work out." He promised me. I nodded, although I didn't believe a word of it.

Midnight came fast, and before I knew it, there was only 2 minutes of 2009 left. We were all standing, crowded around the large 56' inch TV in my aunt and uncle's living room, laughing as we made fun of some celebrities and discussed things that happened in 2009, like the Kanye incident with Taylor Swift. Oh, that one struck a cord with all of us, and it soon turned into a full on debate.

"He had _no _right to do that to her! And his excuse, so stupid!" Ella exclaimed, slamming her glass of ginger ale on the table. "I don't care what happened to him, you just don't do that to someone after they win an award, especially not during their speech!"

"Yeah, but at least she got to finish it later." Iggy piped up. "That's always a good thing."

"True, true." Carmen agreed. Ella sent a glare their way, and I'm sure everyone noticed it.

And soon after that, the countdown began.

_60. _

Fang wrapped an arm around my waist and I grinned up at him. I looked over to see that Iggy had taken Carmen's hand and Ella stood on the other side of him.

_50. _

I can't believe 2009 is almost over. I mean, all in all, it's been a good year, if you're an extreme optimist. But now we're going to start a whole new decade.

_40. _

I grabbed Fang's other hand, glad that one good thing had come out of this year. I was finally dating Fang, and I had finally, finally, admitted to him, and myself, that I loved him.

_30. _

Thirty seconds of last decade left. Thirty seconds before a whole new year with new beginnings and new adventures.

_20. _

I looked around, everyone was on their toes, so ready for that ball to drop. Angel stood by my legs, holding my free hand, and Nudge was in front of me.

_10. _

Aren't Fang and I supposed to kiss when the clock strikes midnight? Isn't that the coupley thing to do?

_9. _

We all chanted out the seconds as they ticked away, excitement growing for that final millisecond of the year.

_8. _

The new year dawned nearer and nearer.

_7. _

Maybe 2010 will hold more than just a new decade. New hopes and dreams. New accomplishments.

_6. _

New nightmares. New disasters.

_5. _

Wait, why the negativity? I shook my head, shaking out all negativity for that one second where we are in a whole new year.

_4. _

_3. _

_2. _

_1!!_

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The cheer rang through the house. Fang turned me towards him and pressed his lips to mine, even if only for a second, it made my outlook on this year more…optimistic.

I pulled away grinning and looked around the room, just in time to see Ella grab Iggy by the shoulders and smash her mouth to his.

Goodbye optimism…I knew this would _not _work out.

* * *

**Ooh! Drama! **

**And yeah, I know, New Years chappie, a bit late. Darn...**

**-shrug- Better late than never. **

**Iggy: Okay, now we have a little challenge for you reviewers. **

**Me: In the beginning of the chapter I used several clichés. Whoever can point out the most gets a chapter dedicated to them, and they'll, of course, get mentioned. **

**Iggy: Why don't we give them a general number of how many there are? **

**Me: Well...there's about...10? I dunno, let's count. Yeah, around 9 or 10. I think they're only in the first section. **

**Iggy: So, see if you're any good at catching clichés. **

**Me: And I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm off to finally watch LOTR...and probably work on some more fanfiction.**

**R&R?**


	18. Hypothermia

**YES!! -happy dances- **

**Lyric: ...Skits...? **

**Me: Sorry, this would've been updated yesterday but FF just _had _to screw up and not let me, Saint, Vera and probably some of you not upload anything. -growls- But now it works! YES!! **

**Lyric: Oh...that's why you were yelling at your laptop yesterday. **

**Me: Si, senior. And you'll notice, no Ig. He's spending some time with one of my other friends, Callie. We pretty much switched Lyric and Iggy. -huggles Lyric- **

**Lyric: Yeah...can I go sleep now?**

**Me: Sure. Okay, anyway, sorry for not updating, but, gah, I just...-weird hand motions- KUHBLEH! **

**Okay, lemme put it this way, I have a 20 page report on the Civil War to do, I just got done with Spring chair tryouts(4th chair!!), I've been nominated for All-Festival band(-happy dances- That is good for a first year trumpet!), and many other things. And now I'm lookin' out the window to SIX FEET of snow, which is...rare for where I live. -huggles El Nino- I lovest El Nino for giving us whack winter weather. -grins- **

**So, that's enough for the A/N, why don't I let you get to the chapter? **

**Thanks to: Saint&Fang as per usual, my First Aid teacher, my iPod, and whoever is willing to murder Ke$ha who can't freaking spell her name....

* * *

**

As you can guess, after Ella's lip lock with Iggy, it all went down hill from there.

Iggy pulled away in complete shock and Carmen gaped at the two.

The fight started with a slap, which soon changed to tackling and hair pulling and punching and kicking, and soon after resulted in bloody noses, busted lips and black eyes. I grabbed Ella and pulled her off of Carmen, and Fang quickly grabbed Carmen. Ella tried to wriggle out of my grasp, but since I am an Avian-American, I held on to her tightly and she tried and tried to no avail.

"Girls!" Mom shouted. "What is wrong with you two?!"

"What are you two doing?!" Aunt Margie exclaimed before turning to her daughter and spouting out random Spanish. "Que diablos estas haciendo? Luchando con su primo en un chico?! Deberia estar avergonzado de si mismo, Carmen Martinez! Eres una desgracia para esta familia! Una verguenza!"

"That goes for you, too, Ella." Mom chided. Ella frowned and looked down, her nose bleeding profusely.

"What did she just say?" I asked Ella.

"'What the heck are you doing? Fighting with your cousin over a boy? You should be ashamed of yourself. You are a disgrace to this family.'" Ella muttered. Ow. Harsh.

"Girls, come with me." Mom said, grabbing both Ella and Carmen's arms. I let go of Ella as she got dragged off.

Great way to start a new year, no? Have to break up a cat fight between your sister and your cousin that was over boy that is practically your brother.

* * *

**~Fang's POV~**

About an hour after Carmen and Ella's catfight everyone started heading off to bed. Dr. M had managed to get the two girls calmed down and let them talk it out, I wouldn't know how it ended though, Max and I escaped the drama as soon as we could and headed up to my room.

Max flopped down on my bed and I took a seat at Alex's computer desk. I stretched out my wings behind me.

"Why couldn't we tell your family about these?" I asked, gesturing to my extra appendages. Max shrugged.

"Mom just didn't want us to. It's really been a downer, I really want to fly." She sighed and lay back on my bed.

"Well, I think I might have an idea." I said slowly, leaning back in my chair. She looked up at me and raised her eyebrows.

"What's that? And should I be worried?" She questioned. I rolled my eyes.

"Why don't we go for a fly? Just tell them we're going to go for a walk or something." I suggested. "Or, we could sneak out."

"Fang!" Max exclaimed in surprise as she sat up straight on the bed. "How could you even suggest such a thing? You're _insane_! How could we sneak out of the house?"

I raised my eyebrows at her, and then we both burst out laughing.

"After everyone goes to sleep?" I asked. Max nodded just as Alex entered the room. I tucked my wings in quickly, hoping he didn't see. He seemed to not even notice me, instead he looked over to Max and told her that Dr. Martinez had declared it bedtime for everyone. With a smile and a nod, she left the room, walking down the hall to her own room.

* * *

**~Max's POV~**

About an hour after everyone had fallen asleep in my room I slipped out of the bed quietly. I checked the clock before tiptoeing to the door. Two AM. I opened the door gently, closing it the same way behind me. I headed towards the living room silently, skipping the squeaky steps on my way down the staircase. A dark figure stood in front of the window. As usual, the dark figure that was always silent and could sneak up on a person with the most sensitive ears heard me walking up behind him and turned towards me.

"Ready?" Fang asked. I nodded and he handed me my jacket from the hook beside the door. I slipped it on and gave him a grateful look. He smiled and kissed my forehead before cranking the window open enough for us to slide out.

Once outside we launched ourselves into the air, not even bothering to go into the woods since everyone was already asleep. I smiled widely, loving the feeling of the cool night wind blowing through my hair and under my wings, lifting me up into the dark sky. I looked over at Fang beside me, his figure illuminated by the full moon. He looked over at me with a smile on his face. It's just one of those things that flying does to you, makes you smile like a madman.

"I left a note for your mom in her room." Fang informed me after flying for a few minutes. "So she'll know where we are and won't freak out." I nodded.

"That was a good idea." I commented before doing a flip mid-air. Fang chuckled beside me and I turned to him. "What?" He shook his head.

"Nothing." He said.

After another while of flying and doing tricks and flips Fang reached out and grabbed my arm. I looked over at him, "What?"

"Look." He pointed down. I followed his eyes downward. We were flying over a small forest, and all the snow covered trees looked beautiful from this high up. I was so wrapped in the amazing sight, and the fact that I was seeing it with Fang, another amazing sight hovering beside me; I didn't even notice anyone around us. That is, until a sharp pain erupted in my left wing.

Before I could blink I was spiraling downward toward the snow covered ground. My wing stung and I winced as I managed to flap. I looked above me to see Fang fighting off two winged beasts. They looked like bears with wings oddly put onto their backs. One of them held a gun that was trained on Fang as he fought with the other one. I flapped my wings hard, trying to stop my fall, and once I caught myself, as painful as it was, I hovered before shooting upwards toward the thing holding the gun. I positioned myself behind him, ready to kick him in the back, but before I could lay a hand, foot or wing on him, he had spun around and cracked his gun against my head, right above the temple. I heard Fang call out my name in horror as I descended toward what I could only guess was a huge body of iced over water. I slipped into darkness as my body slammed against the ice, breaking it and sending me into a cold, wet slumber.

* * *

A strong force pushed hard under my sternum. I gasped, taking a deep breath, and then started coughing hysterically. I felt myself being lifted into a sitting position and a strong hand rubbed and patted my back gently as I barfed up water and the other contents of my stomach.

Once I had finally stopped coughing Fang's wiry arms wrapped around me as I shivered. I leaned against him, taking in his warmth. Fang took my jacket off, much to my disliking.  
"What-t a-are you d-doing?" I asked, my teeth chattering.  
"Take off your shirt." He ordered. I attempted to glare at him, but I don't think it worked well with how much I was shaking from the cold.  
"N-n-no!" I protested. Fang rolled his eyes.

"You're getting hypothermia, Max. You probably already have it actually. I'm trying to help you. You need to get those wet clothes off." He explained quickly, taking his own jacket off.  
"Why c-can't you j-just fly me home and th-then I'll ch-change?" I asked.  
"When I fly the wind will hit you, causing you to get colder, will you just take your clothes off?!" He shouted. I'd imagined him telling me that before, but the circumstances were much different then. I looked down at my hands, willing them to move, but they were unresponsive, shaking and turning blue from the cold wind hitting me. Fang sighed and grabbed the hem of my shirt, his warm hands touching my skin for a second, before they ripped my only source of any type of warmth off of me. He wrapped his jacket around me, enveloping me in new warmth that stopped the shivering slightly. He didn't bother to remove my soaked jeans before he picked me up and started flying towards my uncle's house. I curled against him in his arms, wrapping my cold arms around his neck, taking in as much warmth as I could, but I still shivered violently as the cold air blew through my soaked hair and hit my wet jeans, chilling my legs to the bone.

In less than five minutes we were on the porch of the house and Fang was banging on the locked front door. Aunt Margie opened the door, an aggravated expression on her face. When she saw me she looked worried.  
"Oh my, what happened?" She asked before she broke into Spanish. I don't remember much after that, my head started getting fuzzy, but I know I was passed from person to person and at one point I was covered with many blankets and someone tried to get me to drink something really warm.

I woke up sometime later in front of the fireplace. I was covered with about five blankets and Fang was lying behind me, his arm around my waist. I turned myself around to face Fang, still shivering under the blankets. He instinctively pulled me closer, which I wasn't going to fight with, and I curled up against him, tucking my head under his chin.

"Are you still cold?"

I jumped slightly at Fang's deep voice. He chuckled slightly and kissed my hair.

"Yeah, I am." I told him, which prompted him to hold me even closer.

"You scared me half to death." He whispered.

"I'm sorry. I didn't plan to be knocked out of the sky by some big winged…thing tonight." I muttered. Fang sighed.

"I know." He tightened his arms around me again. "You really are cold." He commented as he pulled me away from him to look at my face. He frowned.  
"What?" I questioned. Instead of answering, he pressed his warm lips against mine, sending a wave of warmth through me. I furrowed my brows at him when he pulled back.  
"Your lips were still blue. I was just trying to warm them up." He grinned at me. My face heated up as I snuggled back up to him. Well, at least he knows how to get me warm…

The next morning I had pretty much every warm food and drink in the house and Fang and I had some explaining to do. And some things to tell my family.

"Why were you two even out there? What happened?" Aunt Margie asked. I bit my lip, which apparently still had a blue-ish tint to it from what Ella had told me, and looked down, trying to think of a good lie to cover this up. But, why would two teenagers be out in the middle of the night, well, actually early in the morning, and fall into a lake? I mean, other than our obvious reason.

"Margie, there's something you should probably know about Max and the others." Mom said gently before telling her and my cousins and uncle about us. She explained about our wings, and how we got them, and my family kept looking over at me and Fang. We extended our wings a bit to prove to them that Mom wasn't crazy and they were in awe. Then, Mom handed it over to us to explain how we really wanted to go out and fly, so we snuck out, then how we were attacked and everything up to when Fang carried me through the door.

"And you kept this from us?" Carmen asked. I took a sip of my hot chocolate, not looking any of them in the eye.

"That is _so _awesome!" Alex exclaimed, and then he looked at Nudge. "So, you have them, too?" Nudge nodded shyly, spreading out her fawn wings. Alex looked taken aback. "Whoa." He breathed. Nudge blushes lightly and looked down. I grinned.

Carmen turned to Iggy, who was beside her on the loveseat. Iggy, feeling her stare, looked back her. As if he knew what she was going to ask, he stretched his albatross wings out. Carmen gaped at them, reaching out to run her hand through the feathers. Iggy's cheeks took on a light shade of pink.

I stole a glance at my own wing, remembering that it had been shot. I saw that Mom had fixed it up, which I was quite thankful for. It must not have hurt me very bad, because I could easily stretch my wing without it hurting too badly. Fang put his arm around my waist and kissed my temple.

After everyone was done awing over our wings it was time to pack and then catch the next plane out of there. This is pretty much how the goodbyes went: I had to get Ella distracted while Carmen gave Iggy a goodbye kiss, which I'm sure he would never speak of again; I got two sloppy kisses on the cheek from my aunt and uncle, plus many hugs from my cousins; and Nudge got her first kiss from Alex. Well, first as far as I know.

The plane ride was boring, same as the one the one there. Fang grabbed my hand and I smiled up at him; he grinned back and kissed me gently. I longed for his lips to stay on mine, but he's completely against PDA so I just had to deal with stolen kisses every so often. I'm just glad he's fine with holding hands in public. Do you know how many girls I catch checking him out? A lot, that's how many. And I just love seeing the looks on their faces when I reach over and grab his hand, or he puts his arm around my waist and kisses my head. Priceless.

One of the reasons I love dating Fang, I mean, other than the obvious facts like how he's an amazing kisser and I love him and stuff like that.

I grabbed one of the ear buds out of Fang's ear and put it in my own as he played some of his favorite music from his iPod. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as he put an arm around me, kissing my forehead. I smiled gently as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Oh, and I had a birthday recently. A week and a day ago, actually. Can anyone guess how old I am now? Other than those that know, Kara, Saint, M.G and Vera. **

**And can anyone guess what I got? (again, other than those mentioned). Here's a hint, it plays music and keeps me sane. And you can poke it!! -grins-**

**Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**R&R?**


	19. Fictional Fighting

**Guess what time it is!**

**Iggy: Time to go to bed?**

**Me: What?! It's only 9:30! How can you want to sleep?!**

**Iggy: I'm tiiiiiired...**

**Me: Meh, deal with it. You can sleep later. Just watch Final Destination 2 so you'll have nightmares.**

**Iggy: ...thanks...**

**Me: Alright, so, if you keep up with my Corner O' Randomness you know that this is the weekend that I'm going ice skating. Well, I'm laying in a hotel bed right now, and I just got a thumbs up from Saintles, so I decided to go ahead and update this. While watching FD2...hehe...Love these movies. -munches on more birthday cake- Okay, I'll let you go ahead and read the next chapter. More at the bottom...**

**Thanks to Saint and Fang as always.**

**

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**

There are two moments in my life that put me in pure bliss, when I'm eating one of my mom's chocolate chip cookies and when I'm kissing my boyfriend, Fang. Want to know what's even better? Kissing Fang after eating chocolate chip cookies. It's like that one commercial about the popcorn and nuts, with the human dolphins. Awesome + Awesome = Awesomer. So, so right. I loved it all, the after taste of the cookies, the feeling of Fang's soft, yet rough lips moving against mine, his arms coiled around my waist, his soft, smooth hair between my fingers, his body pressed against mine. But, of course, like all my pure-bliss-moments, it had to be ruined by something.  
"Maximum Ride!" Mom's voice carried upstairs, filled with annoyance. I pulled back from Fang sighing.  
"What did you do this time?" Fang whispered jokingly in my ear. I rolled my eyes and pushed him away from me.  
"Let me go find out and I'll get back to you." I muttered, unsure of what I did to get Mom upset. Fang planted one more, quick kiss on my lips before letting me go. I walked downstairs to see Mom standing in the living room with her hands on her hips. I put my hands up and sighed.  
"I promise, whatever I did…I was framed and it's all Fang's fault." I surrendered. Mom chuckled and rolled her eyes at me.  
"Ella told me something about you, Max, and, I must say, I'm disappointed." Mom said. "Saints or Colts?"  
Then I realized what I did.  
Mom and the rest of her family were huge Indianapolis fans. I, however, did not inherit that gene, seeing as I knew that the Colts were going to lose. Hard. By a lot.  
"Erm…Saints." I said slowly. I bit my lip and looked up at her. She chuckled.  
"You look like I'm about to sentence you to death." She laughed. _From what I've heard, I thought you might_, I thought to myself. "Honey, I'm not going to kill you for going against the Colts." She said, then she put on a serious expression. "But, I'll make you a bet."  
"A bet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. This woman knows my weakness. I can't resist a bet.  
"Yes. If the Saints somehow manage to win, I'll give you fifty dollars." She said.  
"And if I'm somehow wrong and the Saints lose?" I questioned, leaning back against the wall. She thought for a moment.  
"I'm sure you don't have any money on your person, and the Superbowl is tonight…so…If the Saints lose, which they will, for one week, you are not allowed around Fang, unless someone else is around." She decided. _That _was more like a punishment.  
"I'll take your bet." I said, smiling smugly. "You better get your wallet out."

* * *

"So, what'd you do?" Fang asked, kissing my cheek as I came into the room.  
"I'm a Saints fan." I said slowly. "Mom wanted to make a bet. And…I don't think you'll take it well if I lose."  
Fang wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck.  
"And why is that?" He asked, his lips brushing against my neck and sending a shiver through my body.  
"If I lose, I can't be around you without somebody else there."  
"You're right. The Saints better win…" He said before wrapping his arms around me. "But, since this may be the last moments we have alone, we might as well make the best of it." A girly giggle erupted from my throat before he pulled me into another kiss.

* * *

Later, around 6:30, we all gathered in the family room around the TV. Mom had set out some food, a LOT of food, and the Flock and I munched happily on the assorted fruits, veggies and junk food. I could smell pizza in the oven as the scent wafted in from the kitchen. Fang sat beside me, one arm surreptitiously wrapped around my waist and the other digging into the nachos on the table. Iggy sat beside Ella, closer than necessary, as he munched happily on a stalk of celery. I swear that boy has some kind of secret love for celery. It started with the movie-celery incident back with Stacey, and it's only gotten worse since then. When Mom laid them out, he freaked and attacked the plate…Something's up with him and celery. I'm not sure I want to know what…

Not too far into the first quarter the Colts had already taken the lead by three. Three to nothing.  
"Looks like you two have lost your privacy." Mom said, looking at me and Fang as the Colts got another touchdown. I glared at the screen. New Orleans better not let me down. They've already suffered hurricane Katrina, if they lose this game they'll be celebrating Mardi Gras while cleaning up the horrid mess left by hurricane Max.

* * *

16-17 Colts. Saints, just one point behind. They can get this touchdown. I know it.

* * *

"TOUCHDOWN!" I exclaimed, jumping up. "22-17, Saints! Ha! Get your wallet out, mom!" Everyone looked at, causing a blush to creep up my cheeks. I sat down quickly, looking down to hide my face. Fang chuckled beside me, kissing my temple quickly. I glanced back up at the screen as one of the players, yeah not bothered by names, ran down the field. In the end zone when, _WHAM!_ He's knocked sideways.  
"Incomplete." Mom smirked.  
"No way!" Ella exclaimed. "That counts." The game went to commercial as Ella and Mom began their fight. "He touched the ground, it just wasn't his knee! They have to count it!"  
"You have to have control of the ball for it t-" Mom started, but Ella cut her off as she grabbed the remote angrily. Thanks to TiVo she was able to rewind back to the play.  
"He has control of the ball!" She cried, pointing to the screen. Mom grabbed the remote from her and switched back to the commercials.  
"We'll just see." Mom said. Iggy put a hand on Ella's shoulder as she sat back down, fuming.  
"It's alright, babe." I heard him whisper quietly, thinking no one could hear him. "Saints are still ahead, you'll still win the bet."  
Ella sighed and nodded. Bet? I must make a note to question them about that later.

* * *

"31-17! HA! I TOLD YOU THEY'D WIN!" Ella shouted, cheering. Mom chuckled.  
"Looks like you owe me $50." I said, holding out my hand. She chuckled again, rolling her eyes and pulling out her wallet. She placed a crisp fifty dollar bill in my hand and I took it happily, sliding it into my pocket. This would go towards Fang's Valentine's Day gift. Fang wrapped his arms around me from behind as everyone heckled my mother. Looks like everyone was secretly for the Saints.  
"I guess we still get our alone time, then." Fang whispered in my ear. I shivered as his breath ran down my neck. He placed a gentle kiss on my shoulder before releasing me and taking my hand in his, he led me out of the room, into the kitchen.

He leaned back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. I stood back, watching him, his dark eyes staring at me intently. I could see the wheels turning in his brain and new he was deep in though about something, and being the nosy bird-kid I am…  
"What're you thinking about?" I asked. He snapped to attention, looking at me with his deep, dark brown eyes. I almost melted on the spot.  
"Do you think the Kool-aid man would be a good football player?" He questioned.  
"I don't think so…each time that he gets tackled he'd spill on the field." I replied. He nodded, understanding my reasoning completely. I laughed and put my arms around his neck.  
"You know, I love you." I smiled. Fang put his hands on my waist and kissed me gently.  
"Right back at you." He grinned. Another girlish giggled escaped through my lips and I pulled him into another kiss.  
Any guesses what happened next? Fang and I had an intense make-out session?  
No.  
Fang got down on one knee and proposed?  
Nope.  
Erasers busted through the windows?  
Nada.  
Spongebob and Patrick burst through the door with paintball guns and knives singing 'Take It Off' by Kesha?  
Yes. Si. Correcto.  
I know.  
What. The. F---.

Really, I have no idea. I thought I was just imagining things until a red dent appeared on the cabinet beside my head. Fang and I exchanged a WTF look before I roundhouse kicked the starfish in the stomach. He swung his gun at my head, but I ducked. Patrick seemed to have trouble following my fast moves, and he seemed to have poor balance. I swung a hard punch into the side of his head, and when he tried to grab my arm I quickly punched him in the nose, catching him off guard and causing him to stumble backwards. I snuck a glance over to see Fang fighting the square, yellow sea critter. I bet he wished that this was like that episode with the bully, but it sure wasn't. Unlike in that show where the guy's punches were just cushioned by his sponginess, in this fight he was taking hard kicks and punches everywhere. I was proud of Fang, momentarily giving him a mental pat on the shoulder, that is until I was hit hard on the back of the head with a frying pan. I fell to my hands and knees, my vision blurring. I closed my eyes for a second before springing to my feet and tackling the starfish to the floor, sending punches where ever I could reach. I finally stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I snarled and turned on the owner of the hand, ready to fight.  
"Whoa, Max, calm down, it's just me." Fang said slowly. He gestured to the unconscious starfish below me. "I think you're done with him." I nodded and Fang grabbed my arm, helping me stand up. I fell against him, overcome with dizziness, and his arms latched around me, holding me up.  
"Fang…did we seriously just get attacked by cartoon characters?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes from the immense pain in the back of my head. Fang nodded slowly. I looked over to see the rest of my flock with my mom and sister, watching us. Angel was looking at the two unconscious bodies on the floor. Two of her favourite cartoon characters lying seemingly dead on her kitchen floor. That's got to be a downer.  
Fang half-guided, half-carried me to a kitchen chair, in which I slumped down and laid my head on the table, ready to cry. The pain in the back of my head was growing, getting worse. I felt gentle fingers move over the back of my head, and I winced when they touched a very sensitive spot.  
"Yeah…she has a knot there." Iggy's voice said quietly. "And I'm guessing an intense headache. From the sound of the blow, I'd expect she would have been unconscious."  
"It looked like he hit her pretty hard." Fang replied, putting a hand on my shoulder.  
"Max, honey, you should probably stay awake for a while so you don't go into a coma or something…" Mom's voice came from across the room.  
"Is Max going to die?!" I winced at the sharp sound cutting through the air, Angel's voice high with worry. Someone shushed her and I expect Mom shook her head, because I heard three sighs of relief from the little kids. After a few minutes, I'm guessing someone decided it was time for everyone to go to bed, because I heard feet shuffle out of the room and whispers of 'goodnight'.  
The chair beside mine was pulled out and Fang's legs appeared in my line of vision under the table. His hand was placed gently on my shoulder, making soothing circles.  
"You okay?" His soft voice asked me. I nodded gently, trying to not make my headache worse. "Head hurt?" Was his next question, which I replied to with another nod. He got up and I heard him shuffle through the cabinets. I sat up and watched him fill a glass with tap water from the sink, then he grabbed a bottle of pills from the cabinet and rejoined me at the table, sitting the glass down gently in front of me and popping the pills open. I took two of Asprin, hoping they'd help the pain subside. My stomach felt like it was doing gymnastics inside me, making me nauseas, and the room was spinning before my eyes, so I laid my head back down on the table.  
More shuffling around in the kitchen, then I felt something cool and moist being pressed onto the back of my neck and firm hands gently massaging my shoulders. A tear slipped out of my eye and landed on the table.  
"Bodies have been disposed of." Iggy's quiet voice came from the direction of the door, which had just been shut. "I drug them out into the forest, blindfolded and such. And, you won't believe this but the weirdest part is that--" He stopped mid-sentence when Fang said, "Ig, can this wait until morning? I think we've had enough weird things happen tonight."  
"Yeah, but Fang, this is…crazy weird. I mean, Pat--"  
"Ig!" Fang said sharply. Iggy sighed.  
"Alright, I'll tell you in the morning. I guess I'll go to bed. 'Night, you two." He said. I muttered a 'goodnight', as did Fang and listened to him walk down the hall and up the stairs. I raised my head and looked up at Fang, removing the wet rag from my neck.  
"Fang…what the hell was that?" I asked in a whisper. Fang pursed his lips, before finally saying, "I have no clue, Max."  
I turned around in my chair to face him and he put his arms around me, I buried my face into his stomach and started crying. Yeah, me, Maximum Ride, crying over an attack by fictional characters. But you try taking a hit to the back of the head with a freaking frying pan and see if _you_ don't cry from the pain.  
Fang sat back down in the chair beside me and pulled me into his lap, rocking me gently as I cried into his shoulder. Did I mention it was a cast iron skillet? Yeah…

* * *

Fang had, at some point, moved us over to the couch in the living room, which I don't remember at all, but we had apparently fallen asleep there, because when I woke up I was laying in Fang's lap, on the couch with his arms and wings around me. I looked at his still sleeping face, calm, serene, peaceful. I laid my head on his chest, I checked the clock, it was six in the morning, so I laid my head back down on his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat lull me back into sleep.

* * *

**Everyone on three now, "AWWWWWW!!!" **

**Okay, I know what you're thinking. What. The Fnick?!**

**I promise you, it will all make sense later. I'm _not _insane, nor am I turning into Chrissy.**

**Well, I had something more to say, but I forgot what it was, so I'm just going to end this chapter by saying this, I'm still on hiatus, even though I have updated, but I swear I'll try to update this story again since I'm positive you all are thinking I'm a nutcase. I _swear _it makes sense...**

**Not now, but it will. **

**Oh, and I'll also end with a riddle. If a Canadian plane crashes in America, where do you bury the survivors? **

**Yeah...Also, another one, what occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in a thousand years? **

**Okay, that's all. **

**Iggy: DUDE! THAT WENT RIGHT THROUGH IS FREAKING EYE!**

**Me: Heheheh...I luffles Final Destination...Alright, well, R&R! Hope you liked this faxxy chappie!**


	20. Foes Return

**Whoo! Update! -is currently at friend's house- Yeah...so...short A/N with no Iggy. Scary, I know...anyway...yeah...here be the new chapter!

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**

I ran through the forest as fast as I could, but I couldn't get away fast enough. They were gaining momentum, gaining speed, catching up, swarming, following, attacking. I took the chance to look back, and what I saw made me scream bloody murder as my legs pumped harder, trying to get farther away from them. Faster. Faster. C'mon, Max! Faster! I screamed to myself. My legs moved faster, taking longer strides, pushing myself farther forward, I had to get away! I looked up and skidded to a halt. If I countinued, I'd either run off this mountain...or run into the swarm before me. I stood in horror, listening to their angry chattering, watching as they glared at me, waiting for me to make the wrong move so they could attack. But I wouldn't, couldn't, do that. Not now. I had to stay safe, had to keep them from him. Had to keep him safe. Then it dawned on me. I swung my head around, did a full 360. He was gone. Gone. GONE!

"FANG!" I shrieked. I swiveled around, looking everywhere. "FANG?!" My hearbeat accelerated when I saw a figure emerge from the hoard. I gaped in horror. Fang...was leading...the samurai squirrels.

"FANG NO!" I screamed as loud as I could. My shriek was cut off as I hit the cold forest floor, my eyes snapped shut as pain erupted in my left arm.

"Max?! Are you okay?!"

I opened my eyes slowly, wincing, and looked up at the worried face above me.

"Max?" Fang asked, his eyebrows knit together with worry. I nodded slowly and started to push myself up, but that same pain erupted in my left arm and I fell back down in pain. Strong arms wrapped around me, gently cradling my arm, and pulled me up onto the black leather couch. Fang gently rocked me as he extended my arm, trying to see what was wrong; I buried my face in his chest, wincing. "I think it's broken, baby." He muttered, kissing my hair. I felt his calloused hands, gentle as feathers, run over my arm, feeling the bone, feeling whether it was a dislocation, break, fracture or whatever else could possibly be wrong. I sat there, wincing.

"It's just a sprain." I said, my voice muffled by Fang's black cotton shirt. "Breaks don't hurt this bad. Sprains are worse." Fang nodded quietly then murmured, "We'll have Iggy take a look at it. Metaphorically speaking of course." We sat in silence for a few minutes before Fang spoke up again. "Max, what were you dreaming about? You kept saying my name." My cheeks heated up and I just shook my head. I decided to forget about that dream, all of my dreams have been whacked lately, it probably didn't mean anything. Well, that's what I hought, but I have been wrong before.

* * *

Later after Iggy had woken up Fang had him check my arm, and sure enough it was a sprain in my wrist, so Iggy wrapped it with some guaze he found in the kitchen drawer and we hoped for the best.

"Alright, well, let's hope you're not permanently broken, all that jazz, but right now, I'm not really feeling my best, so I think I'll head back to bed." Iggy said. Fang and I both nodded, but as he turned to leave something dawned on me.

"Hey, Ig, wait." I said, grabbing his thin, pale arm. "What was it you were trying to tell Fang and I last night? About the attack?" Comprehension crossed his face, followed by...fear? What?

"Um...well, they weren't actually Spongebob and Patrick." He started. I held back a sarcastic remark and let him continue. "When I took them out there, to the forest, well, this, like, huge...thing came out of the sky. I couldn't see it, obviously," --he gestured to his sightless eyes--"but I felt the wind from it. It was bigger than a chopper, or at least gave more wind. But...the weird thing was...It just hovered there, and then suddenly I heard Jeb talking. He was talking to Ari, who was talking back. I felt 'Spongebob' moving, then suddenly I was just holding a suit...It was Ari in he suit. And then...Patrick was...Omega."

"Omega and...Ari?" I asked. "What? Ig, that doesn't even make sense..."

"I know! But I swear it's what happened! I didn't just imagine it!" He cried, throwing his hands up. "I swear to God it's all true!"

"I don't know, Ig..." Fang started skeptically. "I mean, it was late. Maybe you were just overly tir--"

"I wasn't! Fang, I swear on my bomb supplies that this is true!" He put his hands behind his head and let out a frustrated sigh. "I knew you'd react this way! I shouldn't have told you!" He walked in a circle before walking up to us. "I know what I saw!! Even if you don't believe me!" And with that he left the room.

I know what I saw! What did he mean by that? That he could see? I shook the thought from my head, realizing I was probably just digging too deep into this.

"Do you think he's right?" I asked, turning to Fang. Fang sighed.

"Ari's dead...We all know, we all saw, we were there when we buried him." He said quietly. "How could he be back after that? He's down in the ground, dead." I nodded.

"Yeah, but...They brought him back last time. Jeb knew where he was buried, maybe--" I started, but Fang cut me off. "He's dead, Max! When they brought him back before, he was killed by you. This time he was killed by them. It was his expiration date, they didn't want him anymore and he's dead!" I looked down and let my hair fall in front of my face, nodding slowly. "Yeah, you're right." I whispered. "He's dead." I looked up at him, glaring into his eyes. "He was just as dead that time as when I killed him, Fang. Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean Iggy's wrong."

"That is not what I mean, Max, and you know it."

"No, I don't know it. I get why you want to question it, yeah, he died, we buried him, big whoop. I killed him, and they brought him back. They are obviously capable of bringing people back to life. I don't know why they want to, but they can do it. Jeb knows where we buried him. It all fits! You fought him last night, did you see any fighting similarities?" Fang said nothing for the first few minutes, then nodded. "I think Ig's right. You may not, but I'm going to believe him." Fang sighed.

"I believe him, Max...I just don't want him to be right." He murmured. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest. "I'm sorry, Fang." I whispered. "But I think he is right." Fang put his arms around my shoulders and held me in that position for...I don't even remember how long.

* * *

**Ella's POV**

"Els?"

I looked up from my bed at Iggy as he entered my room. I smiled widely.

"Oh, hey, Ig." To my horror my face started to heat up. He walked in and sat down on the edge of my bed, with perfect aim as usual. That was kind of freaky, but I've started getting used to it. He looked over at me and I met his eyes. They seemed different, less clouded, they were a brighter colour nowadays, but I didn't know why. They were beautiful though. A sharp, bright, electric blue. It was almost as if he could see again. I chuckled quietly to myself at the thought.

Out of nowhere Iggy swooped his head down and caught my lips with his, kissing me hard. I almost melted from his touch as he ran his hand gently up my side, my own hands made their way up to tangle into his hair.

We were both breathless when we broke apart.

"What was that for?" I asked, laughing slightly.

"Had an urge." He said, causing another laugh to erupt from my throat. "And I have something to tell you..." He sounded almost nervous. I moved closer to him and put my hand on his leg.

"Sure, anything, Ig. What is it?" I asked, smiling brightly. He looked into my eyes, it felt as if he could see into my soul. Then I remembered he was blind. But...he was acting as if he weren't, as if he really could see.

"You're right. I can see." He whispered, picking up the internal question from my eyes. I gasped.

* * *

**And that's that...**

**R&R?**


	21. Family Vacation

**We're baaaaaaack!**_  
_

**So, couple things to say before I post this chapter, 1, you will get updates this week. Thanks greatly to testing, we have no homework, so nothing really to do afterschool. Well, I mean, other than practice my trumpet for the concert that's NEXT THURSDAY! HOLY CRAP! WHEN DID MAY 20TH GET SO CLOSE?!**

**Also, I get to go Sleep with the Sharks next Tuesday-Wednesday! -dances- Fun fun fun. :) **

**And 2, you know that competition I had with Vera to see who could update the most in one day? Well, that ended up as a tie, but someone pointed out that I did not update RDG, which I DID know, but I still got done with them all because I had RDG written, but it was not my fault that I couldn't update. I sent it off to my beta, that was unable to beta-read that night. And, I've had this for a little bit and just got around to posting it. Heh...**

**So, let's get to this, shall we? **

**Enjoy!**

**Iggy: And I'm just going to say this so that you all don't think I've been bound and gagged in a closet somewhere.

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**

My brother that died twice is back, as is Superboy Wonder, Omega. Confused? So am I. I know that I never really killed Omega, but I thought that maybe he would've been destroyed since he failed to defeat me. I guess that was wrong, but who knows? They brought Ari back, I know he was dead. I helped dig the hole to bury him. Fang and I had talked about it, and thought that maybe it wasn't the real Ari, that maybe it was just a...clone. Like the Ari that had been in Utah. Maybe this one, too, was just made to freak me out. But Iggy insisted that he was the real deal, and even though I love Iggy and want to believe him, how does a blind kid give proof that this was the real Ari?

"Max? You alright?"  
I snapped out of my daze and looked at Fang's concerned face, nodding.

"Yeah, just thinking..." I muttered. Fang's eyes flashed down to the plate of food in front of me that had barely been touched, then back up to my face.

"You sure? You've barely touched your food, and this is your favourite." I shrugged and began picking at my food absentmindedly.

"I guess a chicken fajita just loses it's taste when it's from a restaurant and not made by Mom." I said. Mom, who was sitting a couple seats down from Fang, smiled up and me, laughing lightly. I felt Fang's foot hook with mine under the table. I shot him a small smile before looking down the length of the table at the rest of my flock.

We were at T.G.I Friday's, they had to put two tables together to fit all eight of us. I looked around the rest of the restaurant, watching all the families, all of them with big smiling faces, bubbly laughs, all around happiness. There was one family in particular that caught my eye.

A family of five sitting in a booth not far from us. On one side of the booth sat two adults, an older man that looked to be in his 50s or 60s, I assumed he may be the kids' grandfather, and a younger woman who looked to be in her 30s. Three kids sat on the opposite side of the booth, a young child, she couldn't have been more than four years old, was sitting between two older children, both looked around my age, fifteen, one a girl with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, stealing a fry from the plate of who I guessed to be her brother. He had pale brown hair and wasn't paying any attention to his sister, because his silvery blue eyes were locked on me.

A shiver coursed through me and Fang sent me a concerned and confused look. I shook my head at him and looked back to the boy. I saw his sister's mouth move, curling into a smile. I tried hard to hear what she was saying.

"Hey, looks like...has his eyes...girl...Kelsey won't...happy now will she?" That was all I could make out, and after she said that the boy snapped his head towards her and hit her on the back of the head, causing a laugh to erupt from her throat. The boy's eyes flashed back to me for a second before he turned back to his family, not looking at me again for the rest of the night.

"So, what're we going to do now?" Nudge asked, bouncing in the seat in front of me. I sat in the very back beside the window. Fang, who was beside me, grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. I took this as permission to lean against him and lay my head on his shoulder, which he seemed to have no problem with.

"I say we go back to the cabin for the night." Ella suggested from the passenger seat, a yawn following her suggestion.

"I second that." Iggy piped up from the other side of Fang. I heard him shift slightly in his seat and looked over to find him resting his head against the window.

"But that's boring!" Gazzy exclaimed. "We should go...go...play mini-golf!"

"Yeah!" Nudge and Angel echoed. I saw Mom roll her eyes and chuckle in the rear-view mirror, her face illuminated by the dashboard lights.

"Kids, it's almost eleven at night, we should head back to the cabin." Mom said in her sweet yet stern motherly voice.

"Yeah..." Fang, Ig, Ella and I echoed tiredly. The younger kids were still hyped up from their deserts back at the restaurant. The only thing I could think of was that boy I saw. I heard his mom say his name later in the night, "Oliver", if I heard correctly. I couldn't help but think I'd seen him somewhere before, he looked so familiar, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I shifted and laid against Fang, staring out the window at the dark sky and darker outlines of trees we passed going down the road toward our cabin.

After Fang and I told the rest of the flock about the whole Omega/Ari thing Mom suggested a vacation that she had actually been planning for a later time. We were staying in a cabin up in the Great Smokies, sounds like fun, right? Well, it did have a great view, upstairs it had three rooms, a family room, a kitchenette and a very nice TV; downstairs there was another room, a pool table, and a laundry room. And outside we had a hot tub, but I think that was mostly for Mom's benefit.

Since there were only four rooms, we had to share. The youngest kids got the room downstairs. To figure out who shared rooms Mom pulled names out of a hat, and I'm sure she was hoping that Ella and I would end up sharing a room. Unfortunately for her, when she pulled out names, Fang and I ended up sharing a room, leaving the last one to Ella and Iggy. Mom, of course, got her own room.

I felt Fang's lips press against my ear and a small smile formed on my lips.  
"What are you thinking about?" He whispered, his breath running down my throat and sending a shiver down my spine. I shrugged, closing my eyes. He kissed my ear again, this time nipping at it slightly. I moved my head away from him.

"Don't, Fang..." I murmured warningly. He chuckled and kissed my ear a third time.  
"What's on your mind?" He muttered. "You can talk to me, you know." I nodded.

"I know, but, I don't really have anything on my mind." I said.

"Max has a mind?" Iggy asked, turning to us. I rolled my eyes and reached over to smack his leg.

* * *

I buried myself under the blankets of the very comfortable bed I shared with Fang. I didn't bother changing clothes, I just threw my shoes off at the door and went straight to bed. I turned on my side and closed my eyes, listening to the light ruffle of clothes as Fang got himself ready for bed. I'm sure Mom wouldn't be a fan of Fang's sleeping apparel, especially not since we share a bed, but I guess what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

Fang slid into bed quietly, find my waist under the blankets and wrapping an arm around me, pulling me close to his bare chest. I smiled and snuggled up against him before being enveloped in darkness.

* * *

**Ella's POV**

I sat down on the bed and looked up at Iggy as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"How come you haven't told the others yet?" I asked quietly, pulling the blankets over my legs. He shrugged as he slid into the bed beside me, leaning back against the headboard. I rolled my eyes at him, and unnecessarily told him I was doing so until I realized I didn't need to anymore.

"I just couldn't find the right time." He sighed.

"Don't you think they're going to figure it out sooner or later? I mean, you're so sure about the Omega/Ari thing, but, how can a _blind _kid know for sure that those two were Ari and Omega without seeing them?" I questioned. "And...Let me just be the one to say, you're really bad at acting blind. It's easy to tell that you're focusing on stuff, and your eyes are clouded over like they used to be."

Iggy shrugged again. "I guess they can put two and two together then. Just, don't tell them. That's why I told you, because I needed to tell_ someone, _and I trusted you to not tell the others."

"Why don't you want them to know? What's wrong with them knowing that you can finally see?!"

His hand clapped over my mouth as he shushed me. "I want to know if this is the real-deal or not before I tell them. For all I know, this could end any day now, this might not be permanent."

I grabbed his hand and pulled it from my mouth. "How long have you been able to see?"

"Not long...Pretty much since we got back from your aunt's over Christmas." His eyes fell, moving to the blankets he had clenched in his hand. I moved my hand over his, stroking the back of it with my thumb. I felt him let go of the blankets and intertwined his fingers with mine.  
"I won't tell them," I whispered. "I promise I won't...if you promise me something in return." His eyes locked on mine; beautiful, bright blue meeting dull, boring brown.  
"What?"  
"If you can still see in a week, you tell them. Alright?"

He pursed his lips, letting his eyes move down to stare at our hands. His whispered response came a few minutes later. "Alright."

I smiled gently and leaned over, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned his head, catching my lips with his own. I don't blame Carmen, my cousin, for liking Iggy. I mean, he's absolutely wonderful, caring, and an amazing kisser. His hands slid across my back, wrapping around my waist as my own hands tangled in his soft, strawberry blonde hair. Our kisses became more heated and needy, Iggy's arms tightened around my abdomen, pulling me closer to him. I ran my hands through his hair, catching tiny tangles, the only thing on my mind being, '_Oh, God, Iggy's amazing...Holy friggin' frigger nuggets, we've got to do this more often...Did he just touch my butt? Oh, heck, I don't care...Holy crap, his muscles are huge...Where did he learn to be such a good kisser?!' _

After our hot-and-heavy make out session, well, to be honest, I don't remember anything after that except the wonderful bliss of sleep and dreams that night, laying happily snuggled in Iggy's arms.

* * *

**Max's POV**

"Max! Time to get up! We've got a busy, busy day ahead of us!"

I opened my eyes groggily, cursing under my breath at my mom. My eye caught the clock on the bedside table. It was seven in the morning, usually the only person up at this time of day was Fang and Mom, maybe Iggy on occasions. I looked over and, sure enough, Fang was already up. He hardly ever slept past eight. Talk about an early bird.

Mom poked her head into my room, smiling brightly at me.

"C'mon, Max, up an' at 'em. You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Yeah, but the second mouse gets the cheese." I replied, my voice scratchy from having just woken up. "I'd rather not be the one to get my neck snapped by the trap."

Mom chuckled airily and walked out, moving with a jaunty step. Someone was in a very good mood today.

I climbed out of bed and sauntered over to the dresser. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. My hair was a horrid rat's nest, my lip curled up in disgust just looking at it.

"Good God, Max, what is all that stuff on your head. It sure can't be hair." I muttered to myself as I grabbed for a hair brush. This was going to be a fun challenge.

_Which will give in first? _I questioned in my head. _The handle of this brush, or these knots? I guess we'll see, eh? Lord, I've got to stop talking to myself. I'm just giving the flock even more reason to send me to the loonie hut. _

After I finally combed through what most people call their hair, I finished getting ready for the day by brushing my teeth (No, I did not use a bottle of Jack. I am not like Ke$ha.) and changing my clothes. It was still mid-February so the weather was pretty chilly, especially where we were at.

"Good morning, beautiful." Fang enveloped me in his arms, kissing my cheek. Even though that's been his greeting to me every morning since, well, a while now, but I still felt a blush spread across my cheeks. I heard Mom's gentle laugh and turned to see her by the fridge, holding a carton of eggs. Iggy stood by the stove, mixing something in a pan over the burner. Mom handed the eggs off to Iggy and turned back to grab something from the cupboard, but stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes growing wide. I was about to ask what it was, but before I had a chance to open my mouth I heard a sound that made my stomach drop. Glass shattered behind me and I spun around quickly, landing in a fighting stance.

Ari. More like robot Ari. There was no way this could be the real Ari.

"Good morning, Sis. How weird is it that we both picked the Great Smokies for our vacation? It's almost as if fate wanted us to run into each other." He drawled. "But either way, it's great to see you again."

I snarled and threw myself at him, landing a solid kick right in his chest, but he only stumbled. In the blink of an eye I felt a fist come in contact with my head and fell to the ground. I didn't move, just laid there curled in a ball clutching my head. I heard heavy footfalls, grunting and cries around me, but I didn't move. I couldn't move. I tried to will myself up off the floor, but my body refused to do what my brain commanded it to do. It just laid there holding my head.

I don't know how long I laid there like that, but after some time I figured Ari had either been fought out or retreated because the grunts and footfalls stopped. I was aware of someone breathing heavily and moving towards me. The light steps informed me it was Fang. My shoulder tingled when his hand touched me. His voice was soft in my ear.

"Max? Are you okay?"

I commanded my mouth to move, to at least mutter out a small no, but it wouldn't budge.

"Max?"

_No, Fang. I'm not! I can't make myself move at all._

"Max? What's wrong?" His voice was overcome with worry, he shook me lightly.

_I don't know! I can't move! _

"Maximum Ride, talk to me."

_I can't! I'm trying, Fang. I'm trying. WTH?! Why can't I talk?_

"She can't move, Fang. Or talk. She can't make herself do anything, and neither can I." Angel's sweet, innocent voice drifted into my ears. "I'm trying to make her get up, but I can't control her either."

"What do you mean she can't control herself?"

"No. She has no self-control at all. She can think, and she's trying to talk, but her mouth won't move. I can hear her thinking now. She says she's trying to talk to you, but she can't."

_Thank you, Angel. _

"You're welcome, Max."

"You don't think Ari did it, do you? Where'd he hit her?" Iggy asked.

_In the side of my head, near the temple. _

"Right about here, right?" I felt Angel's tiny finger touch my temple.

_Yeah. That hurts. Please stop. _

Her finger moved. "Sorry."

"Do you think he hit her too hard?" Fang asked aloud. "Can you lose mobility from getting hit in the temple?"

"I don't know." Iggy muttered. "Maybe...Maybe that's wh--"

Everything went black and I lost all consciousness before I could hear the rest of Iggy's sentence.

* * *

**And there's that. **

**Iggy: How'd you like it? She worked her butt of writing it.**

**Me: I still don't think it's the best I could've done...but...-shrug-**

**Iggy: And there's a little 'contest'(for lack of being able to think of what else to call it)for you all to try. **

**Me: Si. It's basically just 2 questions, one is an opinion. **

**1, I made a cameo somewhere in this. Can you find it? **

**2, Who do you think that creepy kid was? Hint: It WAS someone from MR, and I described him exactly as he was described in the book...Good luck. :)**

**Iggy: So...now what?**

**Me: THIS!**

**R&R?  
**


	22. NyQuil andWHAT!

**UPDAAAAAATE TIIIIIME!**

**Iggy: -yawn- At 1:30 AM?**

**Me: Yuppp. 'Cause I got it back from Saint...half an hour ago...Yeah, you could've seen this half an hour earlier, buuuuuut...Vera and I had to save Channel 1 and bring it back! And V got turned into a cat! Then a shark! THEN A POTATO! Thank GOD for makemebad35's video Couch Potato! Otherwise, our poor Vehricles might still be a sack of evil potatoes! D: **

**Iggy: She's had about 5-7 hours sleep in 48 hours. She's a bit loopy. **

**Me: Weeeee!**

**Iggy: -facepalm- **

**Me: Alright, so before this chapter a note:**

**There's a part in here that Saintles rewrote for me, though she didn't really edit it that much...Anyway, I just didn't like it, so she edited it.**

**Iggy: I think she just added one thing...**

**Me: ...maybe. -shrug- Oh well. So now, onto la chapter!

* * *

  
**

"Fang!" I exclaimed. I knelt by his still form in the grass. His eyes were shut, but I saw his chest rise and fall with each breath. I grabbed his hand with both of mine and noticed a nearly-empty syringe laying on the ground beside him.

"Come on, Fang." I murmured. "Don't leave me now."

Slowly, his eyes opened. I let out a breath that I wasn't aware I was holding and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Fang...how are you feeling?"

He stared at me for a minute, silent. Finally, he opened his mouth.

"I feel," he began. "Like a unicorn jus-"

Whoa, wait, it's been a week since you've heard from us, hasn't it? I guess I should probably catch you up, eh? Well, let's do that.

Alright, a week ago "Ari" knocked me out. You remember, right? Lost mobility and finally went unconscious. While I was unconscious, Fang and my mom thoroughly checked me over to see how badly I was hurt. Guess what they found?

Get this. They found...

_**Absolutely nothing!**_

There was _nothing _there. Not a single trace that I was just punched and knocked out. Not even a knot on my head. Weird, no?

I woke up fully able to move again. After Mom checked me over another time, I stood up and headed toward the bathroom. What I needed was a warm shower to clear my mind. I stepped into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me before studying myself in the mirror. I absentmindedly started rubbing my temple where Ari had hit me. In all my fighting experiences (and, trust me, I had enough of them to compare with) not once had I been hit that hard without some kind of mark being left behind. I shook my head to clear it and moved over to the bathtub, turning the shower on and adjusting the water to a comfortable temperature.

Just as I was about to climb in I noticed a bump on my stomach, about the size of a dime and very red. As every curious teenager would do, I poked it, which only made it itch. It kept itching even after I scratched it. I growled at the bump and made a mental note to put some Aloe Vera on it later, writing it off as another annoying bug bite. If anyone could manage to get a bug bite in the winter, it'd be me.

* * *

The rest of the week was basically uneventful, except one thing. Remember that kid I saw in T.G.I Friday's? (By the way, I found out that the T.G.I stands for Thank God It's. Cool, huh? I thought it meant, Thursday's Gone, It's...) Well, I saw him again. And again. And _again._ It was almost like he was stalking me, and he was usually with that girl. One time, while we were in the Hollywood Was Museum, she came up to me.

Fang, Ig, Ella and I had split up from the rest of the group to go through the horror movie section. As we passed the wax replica of Freddy Kreuger (Ella squealed like a little girl when Iggy pushed her towards it) I saw Stalker Boy and his sister checking out another display, from the distance it looked like Jason. I may have had a sheltered life as a kid, but not _that _sheltered. Where would the fun in my childhood have gone if I hadn't been able to freak Iggy out by simply going 'cha-cha-cha' in the middle of the night? And we can't forget hiding in the woods behind the E-house with a chainsaw during a game of hide-n-seek. Fun times, fun times.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Stalker Boy spotted me at the same time as his sister. A smile spread across her face and she leaned over to whisper something to her brother. A look of horror crossed his face and she began to walk towards me. I narrowed my eyes at her, taking in her torn jeans and sky blue sweater, looking for any signs of danger. I really didn't see any harm in her, just a normal, average girl.

"Okay," she started slowly and quietly. "I _was _going to embarrass my brother by asking you out for him but the look you're giving me is kinda scaring me. So, how about you just laugh and I can go back over there and act like I really did this and didn't chicken out because of how intimidating you look, eh?"

"Who are you?" I asked. She smiled warmly at me.

"I'm Kendra Toblerone." She held out her hand, I ignored it. She awkward drew her hand back as I asked my next question.

"Who's he?" I nodded toward Kendra's brother.

"Oliver Anchorage." She told me.

"Anchorage...isn't he your brother?" Fang asked. Kendra nodded.

"Yes, my adoptive brother." She answered. "He kept his father's name."

"Who's his dad?"

"Why does it matter?" She said defensively. "Why do you care?"

"Just trying to make conversation." Fang said, faking a smile.

"Can we talk to your brother?" I asked. Kendra shrugged, turned towards her brother and called, "Hey, Oliver, come here for a sec."

Stalker Boy, I mean, Oliver walked over, keeping his eyes either on the floor or on his sister, completely avoiding my gaze. The four of us started a casual conversation and I couldn't help but notice how familiar his voice sounded. Same for his looks, but I just couldn't put my finger on it...

Then it hit me.

Omega.

I looked at the boy in front of me, his faded blue jeans, his plain red t-shirt. The way he laughed when his sister cracked a corny joke. No way could _this _be Omega. It had just be coincidence, I mean, everyone has someone that looks like them, right? My mom looks a bit like Maria Canals-Barrera herself, and the other day Fang said he could've swore he walked right past my twin. (He had noticed a few key differences, so there was no Max III to worry about.) After our talk with Oliver and Kendra, Fang agreed that it had to just be a coincidence that Oliver looked like Omega.

* * *

And that brings us to today. Since Ella's school was out for...something back in Arizona, we were still on vacay. (Did I really just say 'vacay'? Why yes, Max, yes you did.) Over the past couple of days Fang and I really had no time alone, other than in the bed. (You all so took that the wrong way didn't you? I knew you would. You sick, sick people.) So we decided to take a day to ourselves. Fang suggested a hike through the woods, since there was a trail right behind the cabin, so after lunch we set off.

Even though it was still winter, it was a pretty warm day, so we got away with just wearing t-shirts. Mom made us promise to be home before dark, though, because we left without jackets and the temperature was sure to drop after the sun set.

We walked hand-in-hand through the woods, perfectly fine in a comfortable silence. Then, can you guess who popped up? No, it wasn't Spongebob and Patrick this time.

"Olly, what are you doing? Let me go!" I recognized that voice. It was Kendra, Oliver's sister.

"Shut up, Kendra!" He hissed.

"Oliver Anchorage, let me go!" I heard leaves rustling and twigs snapping, then two pairs of heavy footsteps. I looked at Fang quickly, he was giving me a look that said 'Don't butt in, Max. Mind your own business'. Sometimes it's like he doesn't even know me. A high-pitched scream rang through the air and I darted towards the origin of the sound. Kendra's muffled cries led me to her location. Oliver had her pinned down on her stomach, straddling her and holding her arms behind her back. They both looked at me, Oliver glared while Kendra looked pleadingly. I didn't take the time to think, just act. I tackled Oliver, throwing both of us at least five feet from Kendra. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kendra scramble to her feet as another figure emerged from the woods. Fang had followed me.

Oliver took advantage of my distraction and punched me in the gut, hard. I doubled over in pain and felt a boot kick me in the head. I fell completely to the ground. Oliver repeatedly kicked me in the gut. God, how does this kid kick so hard? I just stayed still, hoping to trick him into thinking I was unconscious.

My plan worked. Once Oliver stopped I jumped to my feet and raised my fist to punch him hard in the nose…

But my arm went numb, shortly followed by the rest of my body. I fell to the ground, unable to feel any part of my body, unable to move, and unable to talk. It was just like what happened after Ari had punched me. Oliver knelt down beside me, his face close to mine.

"Have you figured it out yet, Max?" He snarled. I should've known that coincidences don't happen. "Do you recognize me, _Maximum_?" He asked, glaring. This wasn't a look-a-like…but…this couldn't be Omega. He didn't seem as…robotic.

"I guess you've noticed differences between now and when we first met. You could say I'm more like…Omega II. After I failed to destroy you, The Director destroyed me."

I knew it! But I didn't expect the whole Omega II thing…

"Then your father brought me back to destroy you."

And I sure wasn't expecting that. _That _is why I trust no one except my flock. They all turn on you, no matter what. You will get stabbed in the back, it's inevitable.

Omega continued his little 'victory speech', why do the villains always feel the need to give a speech when they think they've won? It's kind of annoying.

In the blink of an eye Omega was gone. I heard two people fighting off in the distance, but slowly I was losing consciousness…I got tunnel vision…Everything started going black…

And then I was able to move again. I took a minute before I sat up and looked over at the fight. I expected to see Fang punching Omega, but to my surprise, it was Kendra, and Omega didn't seem to be fighting back at all.

She stopped and turned to me, taking the watch from unconscious Omega's wrist.

"Lay back down and stay still," she said slowly, starting to push me down. I sprang to my feet, grabbing her arm and flipping her over to the ground behind me. She let out a soft groan, sitting up slowly and holding her head.

"Max, I'm on your side." She said.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" I spat. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"I was trying, but Oliver got the better of me. I heard him say that he was going to kill you so I followed him, then…well, you saw what happened." She said sincerely. "I'm trying to make up for that now, would you please let me?"

"How? What are you planning on doing?" I questioned.

"That bump on your stomach"—I cut her off.

"How do you know about that?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Because, that's how they've been controlling you. They put a chip under your skin. I don't know how, so don't ask me that, but I heard Oliver talking about it. This watch controls it. Let me remove it." She pleaded.

"We don't need your help." I said coldly, turning my back on her. Like I said, kiddies, trust no one. Fang and I walked away from her…well, we started to, but then my body went numb and I went crashing to the ground.

A growl escaped Fang's throat and he disappeared from my line of sight, followed by a yell of surprise from Kendra. I laid there on the ground, listening to the grunts and footfalls of the fight.

"If you don't let me take it out they'll kill her!" She shouted. The sounds of fighting ceased. A minute later Kendra's face appeared in front of me. "Once I get this chip out, it'll hurt like hell." She warned. Oh, how comforting. At least she didn't say, "You may feel as slight pinch" like doctors do before they do something that makes you scream out in pain. She reached for something, but I didn't bother trying to see what, I was starting to get tunnel vision again.

Then I felt the pain, I felt blood running down my stomach. It stung.

"Don't move," Kendra ordered.

Like I was going to take orders from her. I got to my feet quickly, ignoring the searing pain in my stomach and the sudden wave of dizziness.

"Max! I sa-" Kendra started, but she got cut off when my fist connected with her jaw. I didn't hit her hard enough to hurt her. I mean, she _did _help, but as I said, _trust no one._ I wanted to get that point to her; I wanted her to understand that I wasn't going to take orders from her. The look on her face was pure shock.

"I'm not going to hurt you unless you stick around," I said in a low voice. "Leave now, or forever rest in pieces." I think that got the message across.

She was gone before I could say 'tacos'. I don't really know why I wanted to say 'tacos'. Maybe it was my Hispanic heritage coming out…or maybe I was just hungry. I dropped to the ground and pulled my shirt over my head, leaving me in just a tank top. I began ripping my already blood-stained shirt into strips to bandage the heavily bleeding hole in my stomach. Fang, too, donated his shirt to being torn for bandaging. (Mom was going to kills us.) Once I got it pretty well bandaged, we headed back to the cabin. (We're getting closer to where you came in, just sit tight a little longer.)

We made our way back through the woods. Multiple questions were floating through my head, how did Omega and Ari find us here? How did they get that chip under my skin? Did Ari do it during that fight with me? I did find it after that, but he hardly laid a hand on me.

I shook my head to clear it. I'd think about that later. Now, I had to keep an eye out for danger.

I was a second too late for that.

Fang let out a cry of surprise as he vanished from his spot beside me. I looked around but no one was there, no one was around.

"Look up." Fang's voice called from above me, and so I did. And there was Fang. A rope was holding him upside down in the air by the branch of the tree.

Ari stepped out from behind that tree. I raised my eyebrows as I looked at him.

"Surely you can't be serious. That trap is so elementary." I commented.

"Oh, I'm serious all right." He said, smiling evilly. "And don't call me Shirley."

Insert silence here.

"You're wanted back at The School, you know," Ari said, leaning against the tree trunk. "They brought me back to life, again." So I guess this _was_ the same Ari. This was my brother. I'm so ashamed. "They promised not to kill me if I got you for them, or killed you; they promised me a long life, and normality. Though sometimes my Eraser tongue can be quite useful with the ladies, if you get what I'm saying."

I shuddered. Unfortunately, I got exactly what he was saying. You don't? Oh, you don't want to…

"And you believed them?" I asked, incredulous. "You're a fool. All they know how to do is lie, they'll "promise" you a long, normal life, but then they'll just kill you again."

"Unlike you, I have a little bit of trust in our dad."

"Our "dad" has given me no reason to trust him." I snarled.

"He saved you! He took you out of The School! You would've died if he hadn't broken you out, you know that right? He's the reason you're alive now."

"No. _I'm _the reason I'm alive now. He just got me and the others out of a tough spot, after that, it was all us. He left us after two years. When Angel got kidnapped, who got her back? Jeb? No. I did. We did. The Flock did. Jeb didn't keep us alive, _we _kept ourselves alive."

Ari lunged at me, but I was ready for it. I kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fly back and fall hard onto the ground. I did a fancy back-flip to keep myself from doing the same thing. He came at me again, reaching for something in his pocket. A toned back obstructed my view, and before I knew it that same back fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Ari had a sick grin on his face as he ran off into the forest, dropping something on the ground beside Fang before he left.

"Fang!" I exclaimed. I knelt by his still form in the grass. His eyes were shut, but I saw his chest rise and fall with each breath. I grabbed his hand with both of mine and noticed a nearly-empty syringe lying on the ground beside him.

"Come on, Fang." I murmured. "Don't leave me now."

Slowly, his eyes opened. I let out a breath that I wasn't aware I was holding and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Fang...how are you feeling?"

He stared at me for a minute, silent. Finally, he opened his mouth.

"I feel," he began, "like a unicorn just took me on a ride to a magical palace…to the land of the blueberries."

"To the…land of the blueberries?" I questioned. He nodded slightly.

"Where we eat onions all day…and…mushrooms…"

Sounds like he's on shrooms…

"Fang, honey, can you walk okay?" I asked.

"Who needs to walk when I can float on a u-nee-corn?" He exclaimed. He was acting very out of character in my opinion. I helped him to his feet, and keeping his arm around my neck, helped him walk back to the cabin, making sure to pocket the syringe as well.

"Maxxie! Look at that purple flying tree!" He giggled on the way back. Fang…giggled…yup, he has been drugged. Fang doesn't giggle. Fang wouldn't ever giggle. Even if he won the jackpot in Vegas, Fang would not giggle.

I suddenly became very aware of someone's mouth over mine. I pushed Fang away, I had no problem kissing normal Fang, but kissing drugged-up Fang just didn't have the same thrill.

"What's wrong, Maxxie?" He slurred, grabbing the hem of my tank top. I smacked his hand. "Fang! Quit!" He looked at me in surprise, then broke into another giggle fit.

It was getting darker, and while it was actually a warm winter day, the temperature of the night quickly dropped. Fang was trying to snuggle up to me, and trying to his hand up my shirt. Oh how I wish we had just stayed with the flock. Suddenly, a pang of worry hit me.

_What if Ari had gotten to them?_

I quickened my pace, practically dragging Fang behind me. (He kept staring at my butt.)

I burst through the cabin door to find Mom, Ella and the Flock sitting around the room looking worried. I knew I looked bad, with dried blood on my face and a make shift bandage around my stomach, blood was probably seeping through it by now.

Fang threw his arms around me from behind, nearly causing me to lose balance.

"'Ello, Flockypoo!" He said to the wall.

"Fang?" Angel asked in a small voice.

"Are you drunk?" Ella questioned, raising her eyebrows as Fang began to pet my hair. He turned towards her and held up his hand, pointing at her.

"I'm not as think you as you drunk I am!" He exclaimed. I pried myself away from Fang, leaving him to talk to the wall.

"She's hot, right?" He said to it. "Yeah, I know…" He turned his eyes on me, looking at me longingly. I walked over to mom, pulling the syringe out of my pocket.

"We need to get him to a hospital." I said urgently.

"A hospital? What is it?" She asked worriedly.

"It's this big building, with doctors and patients. But that's not important right now." I put the syringe in her hand. "I think he was injected with this."

* * *

And then we were back at my _favourite _place. The hospital.

Well, it was definitely high up on my 'Favourite Places' list than The School.

We had been sitting in the waiting area for hours before the doctor finally came out. He walked up to us and asked, "Are you…Nick Martinez's family?" He had to check his clipboard for the name. We all nodded.

"Well, we've found traces of Acetaminophen, Dextromethorpan, Doxylamine succinate and Rohyphenol in his blood-stream."

"Uh…English, please?" I asked, a confused look on my face which matched the rest of the Flock's face. The doctor gave us an apologetic look.

"Sorry, the first three are commonly found in over the counter medicines, like NyQuil. The last one…"

"Roofies." Mom muttered.

My mouth dropped open, at the same time as Ella's and Iggy's.

"He was given _roofies_?" Iggy asked incredulously. "Surely you can't be serious!"

"Yes, I am serious." The doctor said. "And my name's Tom, not Shirley."

Note to self: Never say 'surely' around people. They seem to get it confused with 'Shirley' often.

"What's that?" Angel asked.

"We'll talk when you're older." I said off handishly, giving the doctor my full attention.

"Is he okay? He's going to make it, right?" My voice rose with each word.

"Yes, Ms. Martinez. Nick will be fine, we gave him some medication to clear his blood. He's asleep now, a nurse will come get you when he wakes up so you can see him." With that, Dr. Tom-not-Shirley walked off.

And they say family vacations aren't fun. Well, they are right. But they sure are interesting.

* * *

**Seems this was pretty good according to my loverly beta-reader. **

**"**Fang: Can you just stop sending chapters? Saint just fell over on top of me laughing at this thing...Roofies? Seriously?

Me: Epic...Just epic..."'Ello, Flockypoo!" Perfect... -rofl-"

**Yes, roofies, I am serious. Fang was given roofies mixed with NyQuil.**

**Awesome, no?**

**Welp, back to Skype to stay up ALLLLL NIIIGHT with Vehricles! **

**R&R?  
**


	23. Dreams and Vending Machines

-stares at wrist-

Iggy: Why are you staring at your wrist?

Me: I have one of those epic hairband tan lines.

Iggy: -facepalm-

Me: Now, I'm updating this story. :) Enjoy this chapter.

**NOTE: **Many people asked me in reviews what roofies were, and I was going to reply to everyone individually, but then I saw how many asked so I decided to just put a note here. Roofies is a nickname for the Date-Rape Drug. Sorry for not specifying, but I thought it was commonly used everywhere, not just around here where I live.

Iggy: But keep in mind, you do live in a state known for being a good place to grow marijuana.

Me: True...

Also, thanks to **StFangofBoredom** for giving me ideas for this chapter. :) And being an epic beta-reader.

And I probably had more to say, but I forgot what it was so...

* * *

**Fang's POV-**

_Ari's plan worked_, I thought. _I'm dead, I was overdosed on drugs and now I'm _dead.

I'm sure you think I'm crazy for thinking that, but I had good reason. Let me explain…

I was sitting on a beach, staring out at the golden coast. In my left hand I held one of those fancy little drinks, paper umbrella and all, and in my right I had a grape Popsicle. I was totally alone, or so I thought. I realized I wasn't when I looked to my right, where I saw the absolute most beautiful sight ever. Max was lying beside me, on her stomach, on a striped towel. Her hair was brushed off of her shoulder, but the best part is what she was wearing. Daisy dukes, with a bikini on top. So hot. This is the reason I knew I had died and gone to heaven.

I felt a coldish liquid running down my hand and looked to see that my Popsicle had melted. I frowned, that actually looked really good. My eyes moved back over to Max as she turned over and sat up, smiling at me deviously. My eyes unconsciously trailed down to her black and purple polka dotted bikini top. It was easily the most revealing thing I'd seen Max in, it was one of those tops that was pretty much just two triangles of cloth held together by strings.

Max stood up and motioned for me to stand up with her, which I did. Upon standing up I realized that I was only wearing black swim trunks. I must say, I looked pretty hot. Max grabbed my hand and started dragging me into a crowd of people. Suddenly we were at the front of that crowd, looking up at Katy Perry as she danced around singing a song I recognized as _California Gurls_. After that, Max did something that shocked me even more. She began dancing. _Dancing_. That's something she doesn't usually do in front of people. I myself have only seen her dance a few times, and the majority of those times were from spying on her.

I don't know why she never danced, because she could dance pretty well. Okay, VERY well. And when I say very well, I mean she shakes her hips better than Shakira, she puts her hands up and nods her head like "Yeah!" better than Miley Cyrus could ever do, and she's better than Ella's dance teacher. (See, there was this incident after one of Ella's recitals and…yeah, I'd rather not get into it.)

What made me positive that I was dead in heaven was what happened next. Max grabbed my hands and put them on her waist, then put her arms around my neck and continued dancing. If you ever get the chance to dance with Maximum Ride…well, I'll kill you.

All of a sudden the stage disappeared, the crowd vanished and _California Gurls_ turned into _Slow Dance_ as Katy Perry transformed into Keri Hilson. Max and I started slow dancing, as the name of the song suggested. After a few minutes I looked down into Max's eyes, and right as I was about to kiss her—

"_Ohh!_"

My eyes snapped open and I shot up, looking around the room. Then I realized…

I'm not dead, I'm in a hospital. You know what's worse than being in a hospital? Being in one of those two-person rooms and actually having another person in there with you. And worse than that? The guy that was in the room with me was apparently in a lot of pain, 'cause he kept moaning and groaning. Unfortunately, they didn't have that little curtain separating us.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" He asked in a scratchy voice. I shook my head and turned away from him, looking up at the TV, then the clock. It was around midnight, I was sure everyone was still there. As if reading my mind, the nurse walked in at that moment.

"Oh, good, you're awake. Do you need anything?" She asked. I shook my head.

"No…but is my family still here?" I asked.

"Yes, they're in the waiting area, would you like to see them?" She asked, a smile on her face. How come nurses are always smiling? It's kind of creepy.

"Just one, she's probably the only one still awake." I said. The nurse nodded and walked off. I readjusted myself in the bed, pressing that little button so I the top half raised and I was slightly sitting up. A few minutes after that Max walked into the room. She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Even on vacation you manage to get yourself put in the hospital," she murmured, running her fingers through my hair. Sure there was some random guy watching us, but I wasn't about to object. She kissed my head once then pulled away from me, perching herself on the edge of the bed.  
"How are you feeling?" She asked me. I shrugged.  
"Fine, I guess…Uh, what exactly happened?" I questioned. All I know is what the doctor told me, I was drugged with NyQuil and the date-rape drug. But, I was kind of worried about what happened from the time Ari drugged me to when I woke up here. I really didn't remember much. Well, I recall the ride over quite well. I draped myself on Max, shouting out random stuff involving pickles and Volvos…  
"Ari drugged you…didn't they tell you?" She answered.  
"Yeah, they told me that. But…what did I do?" This question caused her to start laughing.  
"Well…there was quite a bit." She started. "You continuously tried to feel me up, you had a conversation with the wall about how hot I am…Basically, you made a total fool of yourself, but it was hilarious."

To my utter horror, I felt a blush spread across my cheeks. Max laughed again and kissed my cheek.  
"You're still pretty cute when you blush." She informed me, causing my face to heat up more. I snuck a glance at the other patient; he was smiling at us in a creepy way. Max still didn't seem to notice him, but still smiled at my blush and leaned down to kiss my lips. Although the guy creepily smiling at us bothered me, I wasn't about to push Max away. Her kisses are much too sweet for that.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. Good evening, Mr. Patterso—AHH!"

Max jumped away from me as a nurse walked in and let out a sharp scream. I looked over at the doorway to the room and…

Holy shizzle mah nizzle. Are you kidding me? Is God playing practical jokes on me? What the heck is going on here?

Standing the doorway to my hospital room was—

"Stacey?" Another nurse had run in after hearing Stacey's, yes THAT Stacey, our ex-babysitter Stacey, scream.

"It's...it's him!" She shrieked. "The gay one! But…but he was kissing her, a girl! I don't know whether to run away or be attracted now that he's straight again!" She ran around in a circle, screaming, until the second nurse grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Stacey! Get a hold of yourself!" She shouted. "He's a minor, you can't have him."

"Not to mention he's taken," Max piped up. "By the best, _moi_."

Stacey shot Max a death glare, then ran out of the room. The second nurse shook her head and walked over to the other man in the room.

"Good day, Mr. Patterson. How're you feeling? Your ribs okay?" She asked, smiling brightly. The man nodded.

"Yeah...guess I shouldn't sneeze like that again." He laughed. "And please, call me James."

"Wait…you hurt your ribs by sneezing?" Max asked. Mr. James Patterson nodded. Why did that name sound familiar? Meh. Oh well.

* * *

**Ella's POV-**

I opened my eyes slowly, wincing at the bright lights of the hospital waiting room. Everyone else was asleep, but someone was missing. I looked around. Iggy was beside me, I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Gasman and Angel were curled up in chairs beside each other, Nudge was on the floor lying on a blanket a nurse had probably given her and using her jacket as a pillow, Mom was sleeping awkwardly in a chair, and Max was…gone.

I looked at the clock; it was just a little past one in the morning. I guess Fang had woken up and she went back to see him. At least, I hope that's what happened. I shook my head and laid it back on Iggy's shoulder. Then, I felt a familiar ache in my stomach as it rumbled quietly.

I glanced around then shook Iggy's shoulder gently. He woke up quietly and looked at me.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He whispered. I shook my head.

"Nothing, I'm just hungry. Will you come with me to find a vending machine or something?" I asked, putting on an innocent expression I'd seen Max do to Fang millions of times and hoping it'd work on Iggy now that he could see.

He studied me for a minute, and then nodded.

"Alright. But not because you gave me that look, I'm kind of hungry myself." He said, standing up and grabbing my hand to help me up. We walked out of the waiting room and down the hall.

"Do you have any idea where vending machines are?" I asked, turning to him. Iggy shook his head.

"Nope." He answered. "But this is a small hospital, shouldn't be hard to find some. There's probably some on the first floor, let's find an elevator."

We ventured the halls of the 3rd floor until we finally found an elevator. After Iggy pressed the little 'down' button a man that looked to be in his early twenties walked up to us.

"Excuse me," he said to me. "Is this the down elevator?"

We were on the 3rd floor, which is the highest floor in this part of the hospital. There were no floors above us, only below us. The only button you could press on the elevator was 'down', and this man honestly asked me that. I felt like messing with the guy so, in a serious tone, I said, "No, this one goes side to side, the down elevator is down that hall there." I pointed in a random direction.

Get this. The guy nodded, gave me a small smile, and walked away. I broke into hysterics, as did Iggy, as the elevator doors opened and we walked in, laughing the whole way down to the first floor. As we stepped off the elevator I heard a whistle come from the end of the hall. Turning towards the sound I saw a man in a wheelchair, it looked like he had both legs amputated and he was probably in his twenties. And to top it all off, he had purple hair.

"Hey, babe, you lookin' for something?" He asked with a slight southern drawl. I shook my head and started to walk off, Iggy following behind me, but the purple haired guy stopped us again.

"I'm sorry; I can't just let a thief walk away." He said, reaching for my arm. I moved it out of his reach and glared at him.

"Where do you get the idea that I'm a thief?" I asked angrily. Oh…if he says what I think he's going to say, I'm going to—

"You've stolen my heart, sweet thing." He said, smiling at me…seductively? Well, he tried for seductive, and failed at it miserably. "That's a nice outfit." He said, looking me up and down. "It'd look better on the floor though."

I gaped at him, and right as I was about to slap him, Iggy stepped in.

"Look, dude, I know you're looking for an easy girl to grind on," he said. "But there are two reasons you can't have this one."

"Oh? And what's that, Mr. Know-It-All?" The guy asked in an aggravated tone.

"Well, first off, she's a minor. You are…what? Twenty something? And second, she's already got a boyfriend." And with that, he whisked me away towards some magically appearing vending machines and we each got a soda, a bag of chips and a candy bar to hold us over for a little bit, then headed back to the waiting room with the rest of the lot.

* * *

And a nice sarcastic thanks to **tgypwya **(AKA Matt) for infecting me so it feels weird to say 'pop'.

Iggy: Y'know, like the Pop vs. Soda battle...

Me: -nods- I was on the 'pop' side...then Matt infected me with his Crazy Floridian speak and now I'm saying soda and it just feels weird to say pop...grr...

So, anyway, hope you liked the chapter, I really need to go to bed now...

R&R?


	24. Car Trip

So, before I update, I HAVE to reply to this review, but it was anonymous -_-.

People, if you are going to leave a review that I'm going to have a strong urge to reply to, please, please at least give me somewhere to reply to, like an email or something so I can reply!

Okay, I'm sure this reviewer didn't think I'd reply anyway, there weren't really any questions asked, but I just have to comment, so, I'll just get on to it.

**Crouton- **Yes, I read that _entire _review. I did not stop, that was actually pretty interesting.  
Okay, anyway, 1, I'm jealous of the fact that you met a Canadian hobo. That is just epic. But don't eat the Canadian bacon; it's not really what they say it is, it's actually made out of Canadians. –whispers- Just don't let them know you know…  
2, Justin Bieber is not hot/cute/anything near that, so, it's not just 'cause you're a guy.

And in reply to your other review: Your grandmother is freaking EPIC. SILVER STROONS? I didn't know they existed! That is seriously _awesome_! Screw my rusty spork, I'm going to get a rusty stroon!

Okay, had to do that.

Iggy: And now?

Me: Now…I guess I update and finish getting ready...

* * *

"I'm bored." Nudge complained, laying her head against the car window. I turned to Fang and in a hushed voice said, "You owe me ten bucks." He chuckled and nodded.

After Fang had been released from the hospital Mom decided the vacation was over and we started home. Unfortunately, that involved a two day road trip back to Arizona. We had already been on the road for about an hour, and we still had thirteen more before we got to our stopping point for the night.

"I have to go," Gasman informed everyone in the car. "Really bad."

"Can you hold it for a bit longer, hon?" Mom asked him sweetly. "I think there's a rest stop right up here." Gaz nodded and shifted uncomfortably on his seat.

I laid my head on Fang's shoulder, starting to get a bit drowsy.

"Somebody tired?" I heard my half sister ask just as my eyelids fell. I reluctantly reopened my eyes to look at her and give a small nod mixed with a yawn in response. She laughed and turned back towards the front of the car, trying to move closer to Iggy without it being noticed.

I let my eyes fall shut again, and just as I was about to hop on the Dream Land express Nudge's voice filled my ears and pulled me back into consciousness.

"_This is the song that never ends_," she sung. Oh, God, please not this song again. Nudge and Angel had found some video on YouTube that had a lamb singing this song once, and ever since they've been obsessed.

"_Yes it goes on and on my friends_," Angel joined her.

"_Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they continue singing it forever just because_," they sang in unison. And then they started over, singing the song repeatedly, eliciting several groans from the other passengers in the vehicle.

"Please!" Iggy exclaimed. "Stop the madness!"

"Madness?" Ella gasped. Then she, Fang and I proceeded to exclaim, "THIS. IS. SPARTA!" Which caused most of the car to start laughing, followed by silence.

We all sat there in the comfortable silence, Iggy and Ella trying to perform some act of PDA without catching anyone's attention, Angel leaning forward in her seat to has a whispered conversation with Nudge, Gazzy shifting in his seat at the front(he had called shotgun), and Fang being my extremely comfortable and very emolicious pillow. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a silent slumber.

Well, for a little bit at least. Fang shook me awake a little bit later, telling me we were at a rest stop. I rubbed my eyes as he pulled me out of the van, yawning widely. I opened my eyes to the bright sun, flinching at the light an shielding my eyes. I heard Fang's soft laugh and his strong arms encircle my waist as his soft lips pressed against my cheek.

Okay, I seriously need to stop with all this gushy lovey dovey stuff...

I blinked a few times and looked around the rest stop. There were trees scattered about the area with picnic tables randomly placed here and there, a few vending machines near a building in the middle of the plot of land. I saw Gazzy and Nudge running toward the building with Mom following behind them.

I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me as I did another 360 of the place.

"Something wrong?" Fang asked. I shrugged, trying to shake the feeling. Fang kissed my cheek again and repeated the question. My reply was another shrug and he decided to drop it.

I looked around for everyone else. Iggy and Ella had wandered off and were standing by a tree near one of the vending machines, Angel was still sitting in the car, lying across the seat and hugging Celeste to her chest.

"Is she okay?" I asked, gesturing to Angel. She looked up at Fang and he shrugged.

"I don't know," he murmured. "She said she had a stomachache before we stopped."

I watched as she turned over in the seat, hugging Celeste tighter. Unable to stand seeing my baby like that I pulled myself out of Fang's embrace and walked back to the van. Angel sat up when she saw me and smiles weakly. I climbed in next to her, wrapping my arms around her.

"Hey, sweetie," I greeted, kissing her head. "How're you feeling?"

She smiled at me again, her face looked pale.

"I feel...funny..." She told me, laying her head in my lap. I ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, stroking her blonde curls.

"Something bad's gonna happen.." Angel whispered. I looked down at her, her blue eyes were wide and seemed to be clouded.

"Angel?" I questioned. I pulled her up into a sitting position, but she didnt respond to me no matter how many times I repeated her name. She sat there, slumped over in my arms, muttering inaudibley under her breath. "Angel?" I said for the nth time. Fang had rushed over by now, and he looked from me to the unresponsive girl in my arms with a worried expression.

"Max? Fang?" Mom's questioning voice seemed to bring Angel out of her trance. She looked at me, then at Fang before repeating her message. "Something bad is gonna happen, Max."

I didn't have time to question her, at that second there was a loud thump as something hit the roof of the van. Several screams filled the air and I jumped out of the van, pushing my mom out of the way.

"Enjoying your little road trip, Max?"

That's the last voice I wanted to hear today. I looked up at Ari, his face split into a horrible grin.

"Are you stalking me or something, 'cause it's really kinda creepy how you always show up in the same places as me," I mused. Honestly, I was getting tired of the pointless

small talk before fights, I just wanted to get to the butt kicking, but the talking was a great distraction so my flock could get theirselves ready to fight.

"Cut the crap, Ride." Ari snarled. "No need to try to distract me and let your 'flock' get their bearings. I'm not interested in them, I'm just here to fight you." He jumped from the roof of the van and landed right in front of me. I saw Fang ready to attack him from behind, but I also saw Ari pull out a pocket knife. Fang lunged at him, Ari spun around and stabbed the knife into his stomach. Fang fell to the ground.

I growled and threw myself at Ari's beastly form, but he turned around too soon and sent the knife flying toward my chest. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to fill me...

But it never came. I landed on the ground, hard, and looked up to see what kept Ari from stabbing me. What I saw shocked me.

Ari had been tied up and was lying on the ground...and his captor was standing on his chest.

The Samurai squirrel.

I pulled myself off the ground and bowed to the mighty rodent.

"Is there any way you can help my friend?" I asked the Samurai in his native squirrel tongue. He replied in a series of squeaks, but I understood him perfectly.

"Only you can save him, Max." He told me. "Let the ways of the Nephilim fill you. Let it out. Accept it. That is the only way you can save him."

I knelt beside Fang's still form, placing my hands on his chest. It was as if I knew exactly what to do. I closed my eyes, concentrating until-

"Max!" Nudge exclaimed. I shot up, almost jumping out of my skin.

"What is it? What happened?" I asked quickly looking around, counting heads, doing a 360. One head was missing. No, two. Mom and Gazzy were gone.

"Nothing, but your mom had to stop for gas so she said now is your best chance for a bathroom break for the next couple hours." Nudge informed me. I nodded and laid my head back on Fang's shoulder, not needing to use the bathroom.

"I'll take that as a sign that you don't need to go." Fang said. I nodded slightly. "Well, that doesn't stop my need to pee. And the fact that you drool like a waterfall in your sleep does not help the matter."

A light blush spread across my cheeks as I moved to let him out so he could go inside.

"You do drool in your sleep." Ella confirmed, motioning for me to wipe my face. I ran the back of my hand across my mouth, wiping away the spit that resided there.

"What were you dreaming about anyway? You were making these weird squeakish sounds." Nudge commented.

"Samurai squirrel does not appreciate you disgracing his native Tongue." I said in a very zen-like manner. Nudge and Ella just turned away from me and went back to talking about some guy. I think they said his name was Logan-something. He was apparently their new favourite celebrity.

When we set out on the road again I decided I'd try to stay awake, but of course for some reason I became drowsy when we got back on the interstate.

"How come driving makes you so tired?" I yawned.

"Probably because of the rocking motion the car makes, the human body automatically connects gentle rocking motions to calmness and sleep." Ella told me, keeping her back to me. "It's usually connected back to when the baby is in the womb of their mother's stomach, as their mom would walk they would be rocked inside the womb, or at least being rocked as a baby to be calmed down."

"Wow," Ig muttered. "Impressive."

"I had to write a paper about it in school." She told him.

"Problem with that, I was made in a test tube, therefore no womb to be rocked in. And, I don't think the scientists at the lab rocked us very much as babies." I told her.

"Who said it was scientists?" Iggy asked. "I remember, before they took my eyesight, Fang would rock you sometimes."

I felt my face heat up as I remembered too. I looked at Fang to see him smiling at me.

"And my theory is correct even for the mutants." Ella said grinning. Iggy turned and smiled at her. Ella grinned back and Iggy seemed to smile wider. As if he could tell she was grinning, like he could see her.

I shook my head. No, Iggy couldn't see. I mean, he'd tell us if he eclver got his sight back. Right? Right.

But I kept getting this nagging feeling as if I was wrong. I shook my head again and leaned back in my seat.

"You okay?" Fang asked. I nodded and leaned my head against the cool window. Fang ran his light fingers over the back of my neck, making a shiver run down my spine.

I sat back up, leaning towards the seat in front of me. "Hey. Ig, look at me."

Iggy turned his head and his blue eyes met mine with creepy accuracy as always, but this time, looking into his eyes, I could tell there was something different. His eyes didn't seemed clouded over anymore and they were more focused...

My mouth dropped open when I made the connection.

"Iggy, can you...?" I trailed off, hoping he'd understand my question. His eyes dropped and he nodded.

"Why didn't yo-"

"We'll talk later." Iggy cut me off, turning back around.

"What's going on?" Fang asked me. I shook my head and promised to fill him in later.

* * *

Eventually, after sitting through the Constipation song, several many rounds of the Song That Never Ends, and after slapping Iggy multiple times as he sang the Assumption Song, we made it to the hotel. We would stay here for the night, then leave first thing in the morning. That is exactly why Mom got her own room and crashed as soon as we had checked in.

The rest of us all stayed in the room across the hall from hers. Yes, we _did _cram seven kids into one hotel room, and to make it worse, it was one of those cheap hotels with rooms that can hardly hold the four people it's supposed to. Lucky us, huh?

Angel was beyond tired, it was almost midnight by the time we got here and she didn't want to sleep on the way here, so she climbed up into a chair, curled up with Celeste and fell asleep. Gazzy and Nudge were discussing something, I didn't bother trying to overhear what. Fang was laying on one of the beds, eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep. Ella and Iggy were on the other bed, whispering to each other, Ella looked a bit irked at him. I left my position by the door and walked over to the couple, grabbing Iggy's arm.

"Sorry to interrupt the discussion, but Ig and I have a discussion of our own to have." I said, giving him a stern look. Ella nodded and lay back on the bed as I pulled Iggy away and into the bathroom. (Where else would you get privacy in a small hotel room?)

Iggy stood by the door awkwardly, eyes trained on a mysterious red stain on the floor. I stood in front of him, arms crossed over my chest, trying not to glare at him.

"You can see?" I asked, breaking the silence. Iggy nodded. "For how long?"

"Since sometime before we left your aunt and uncle's," he replied. I could no longer hold back the urge, I reached forward and smacked the side of his head.

"Idiot," I hissed. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I told Ella," he muttered. Then with a sigh added, "I didn't want to tell any of you in case it wore off. I wanted to make sure this was real and at least slightly permanent before I told you."

"Ig, that was almost four months ago," I told him. Wow how time flies. "How long were you going to wait?"

"A year at the most..." he said, scratching the back of his neck. I started to whack him again, but thought better of it. Instead, I grabbed a hairbrush off the sink and hit him upside the head with it. "OW!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" I exclaimed.

"I told you-" I cut him off.

"Not good enough!" I nearly shouted. "You keeping your new eyesight a secret would be like me keeping the fact that I'm pregnant a secret!"

"Whoa, you're pregnant? Max, I thought you were the kind of girl that knew when to say when."

"No I'm not pregnant, you idiot! It was an example. I couldn't keep it a secret because eventually people would find out, same for your eyesight."

"Are you trying to inconspicuously tell me that you ARE pregnant?"

"I'M NOT PREGNANT!"

"Max is pregnant?" Nudge asked from outisde the door.

"No! How could I even be pregnant?"

"Well, Max," Iggy started. "When a girl and a boy fall in love they-"

"Iggy!" I went to hit him with the hairbrush again, but he ducked out of the way. I pushed him out the door. "Tell them."

Iggy sighed and nodded, taking a breath before blurting out, "Max is pregnant."

Nudge's eyes widened, Ella's mouth dropped open, Gazzy gaped and even Fang's eyes got bigger in size.

"I'm not pregnant!" I exclaimed. "Iggy can see."

Nudge's eyes got wider, Gazzy's jaw was hitting the floor, and Fang's eyes were clearly wider than normal. He quickly got over that and held his middle finger up at Iggy and asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Iggy returned the favor saying, "Same as me." Fang dropped his hand, nodding slightly.

"Impressive. How long have you been able to see?" Gasman asked.

"Uh...around four months…" Iggy muttered, scratching the back of his neck. Nudge's eyes were bulging by now.

"Why didn't you-" she started, but I cut her off.

"Come on, guys, we should get to bed, we've got to get up early tomorrow." I said, glancing at the alarm clock.

"Who sleeps where?" Gazzy asked.

"There's a free chair, or we could put three to a bed. Take your pick." Iggy said, lying down next to Ella. I, predictably, slid into bed next to Fang. Gasman curled up in the free chair and Nudge climbed in beside me. Someone turned off the only lamp lighting the room, sending us into silent darkness as we swapped 'good nights'. I smiled when I felt Fang's arm protectively encircle my waist and Nudge's foot touch my leg, then I fell asleep, letting dreams filled with Samurai squirrels and the Pillsbury Doughboy fill my head.

* * *

Iggy: Didn't you promise a mass update of all active stories before Band Camp?

Me: SHHH! Maybe they forgot.

Iggy: Not now...

Me: -groans- IG! You should've kept your mouth shut.

Okay, so I DID say I was going to update everything, but I procrastinated and this was all I could muster up. But everything will get updated soon. Maybe.

Iggy: I'll make her, don't worry.

Me: Yes, and I started band camp yesterday, and it was fun. And today is day 2. HAT DAY! :D

Iggy: You know it's been raining, right?

Me: -groans- Great. The air will be more humid and the field's going to be muddy. Fuuuun.

Iggy: Is it mean that I hope you fall?

Me: Yes, Iggy, yes it is.

Iggy: ...I still hope you fall. I'm going this time, I wanna watch if you do.

Me: -glares- And now I must go find something to wear that I don't care to get muddy...

R&R?


	25. Home Sweet Home

**Hey, looky Ig! It's the RDG readers!**

**Iggy: ...I don't see anyone. **

**Me: Oh, right, I forgot, you're blind.**

**Iggy: -_- Hush.**

**Me: Well, it's been a while hasn't it? Might I just say, I'm extremely, for real, totally sorry? **

**Iggy: You are dumb. You are really dumb. For real.**

**Me: ...Okay, Antoine Dodson, why don't you just go hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife and hide yo' husband, 'cause I've heard they're rapin' errbody up in hurr. **

**Iggy: Ooh, nice comeback. **

**Me: -grins- In other (sad) news, let's have a moment of silence for a very under-rated actor. R.I.P Leslie Nielsen. **

**Iggy: He's dead? Surely you can't be serious!**

**Me: I am serious. And don't call me Shirley. **

**Travis: -pops in- Leslie Nielsen would have been proud of that setup. -disappears- **

**Me: Now, a moment of silence?**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Iggy: Moment over?**

**Me: Yeah. Alright, that's basically it for things to say at the beginning of a chapter other than...**

**Thanks to: Saint and Fang, and all of you for sticking with me even though I've been AWOL. **

**Dedicated to: All of my wonderful readers. ^_^

* * *

**

Fang's POV

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. 'Geez, Fang, cliché enough?' Actually no, I could throw in a LOT more, I just don't feel like it. Not to mention, it was the truth. When my eyes snapped open the next morning it was dead silent in our small hotel room. Now, I _am_ an early riser, but I didn't even hear the sound of Max's calm breathing in my ear. I didn't even feel her lying beside me anymore. _What the…?_

I blinked a few times and looked down at the empty bed beside me, and then around the empty room I was in. Where had everyone gone? I sat up slowly, doing another 360. Where were they? I checked the clock; the big red block letters glaring at me told me it was just after ten in the morning. _They didn't leave…did they? No, they wouldn't leave without me…_

I looked up as the hotel room door clicked and opened, Max's head popping in. She looked at me and smiled, entering the room and closing the door behind her. "Good," she said, "you're up."

"Yeah," I said. "Where's everyone else?"

"Free breakfast in the lobby." She told me. "We were going to wait until you got up, but the kids got tired of waiting."

"Sorry, I don't know why I slept in so late." I said, throwing the blankets off of me and standing up. Max walked over to me, running her small hand through my unkempt hair.

"It's okay; it could actually work out for the better." She winked. "Now they won't get as suspicious as they do when you and I just so happen to leave the table at the same time. I came back up here to finish packing up so we could leave." She pressed her lips to mine gently. "But it seems I've gotten distracted…oh well…"

"Someone's a bit…frisky this morning." I chuckled as she forced another kiss on me. She laughed.

"What gives you that idea?" She asked rhetorically, pushing me back down on the bed. "The best part about all of this? I have the only room key…and you're already half naked." She kissed me hungrily as her hands slid down my bare chest to the top of my jeans and…

"Fang get up before I beat you over the head with Nudge's hairspray!"

You're kidding me…you're freaking kidding me. I was about to get _laid, _by the girl of my dreams, and it just _had_to, not only be a dream, but I just HAD to wake up. You're joking. This sucks.

"What were you dreaming about?" Angel asked curiously.

"Yeah, you were breathing heavy and stuff…we thought you might've been having a nightmare so we woke you up." Gazzy explained. "Were you having a nightmare?"

I groaned and sat up. "Uh, yeah, nightmare. That's it." Everyone was looking at me, concerned. "But I'm fine. What time is it?"

"A bit after seven." Max told me. "Mom came in a bit ago and told us to go ahead and get ready to leave."

I threw the blankets off of myself and stood up, proceeding to get ready for the long car trip ahead.

450 songs, 5 fights, 12 sneaked kisses, 6 non-sneaked kisses, 321 sexual implications and 20 Air Heads later, we were finally home. Home sweet home. We all got out of the car, stretching and what-not, before walking to the trunk to pull our bags out.

"Hey, Fang," Dr. M called, tossing her keys at me. "Go unlock the door, please?" I caught the keys coolly in one hand (be jealous) and nodded, turning on my heel to go towards the front door. As I neared the large oak door I was reminded of something, something that had annoyed me before we left this place, something that had slipped my mind for a while…Something…Something, but what was it?

_THE DISC!_

I remembered, the blackmail disc Max had burned so very long ago of me, dressed in women's clothing, and make-up, doing the Numa Numa dance. So. Embarrassing! I had to get that disc back, and _this _was my chance! I unlocked the front door quickly, opening it to a dark hallway. I flicked on the light and made my way through the house silently. I heard the others come through the front door, letting out happy sighs and hyper squeals. Whose bright idea was it to give them Air Heads?

…Oh wait…mine…ignore that last statement, and this one.

Anyway, I ninja'd (yes, that is a word now) my way up the stairs and onto the second landing, looking over my shoulder dramatically to make sure no one was following me. Coast clear. I slowly opened Max's bedroom door, switching the light on and sliding in, closing the door back behind me. _Should I lock it? No…that'd look suspicious…and creepy. Can her door even lock? Oh well, it doesn't matter. What if someone comes up and finds out I locked myself in Max's room, how creepy would that look? What would they think I was doing? Gah! Focus, Fang, focus._

I walked over to her desk, fingering through her collection of CDs and DVDs. _If I were a blackmail disc, where would I be? _That's when I saw it. The purple casing stood out from the other cases, the black, bolded words screaming at me.

**_FANG-NUMA NUMA BLACKMAIL- DO NOT TOUCH (ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE FANG)_**

That silly, silly bird-girl. Oh how I love her. I smiled, smacking the disc against my hand the way people in those action movies do when they find what they've been looking for. Sliding the case into my pocket I exited the room, joining my loving family downstairs in the family room.

"Hey, what're we watching?" I asked, sliding into my usual spot on the couch, between Max and Iggy. Max smiled at me, rubbing my knee with one hand. I knew that smile and gesture combo…That smile and gesture combo _never_turned out well…Ever. I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what she was up to.

"America's Funniest Home Videos." Ella answered me from the other side of Iggy. "For some reason Max was really intent on us watching tonight."

Max's grin widened.

"What's going on, Max?" I asked, keeping a straight-up 'don't-mess-with-me' tone. Max laughed quietly and muttered two words that made me fear for my life and/or sanity. "You'll see."

Though I was a bit antsy, wondering what in the world could make Max so anxious for us to see this. Of course, most of the videos were hilarious. People could be such idiots sometimes, and of course, like any other human beings (or, at least 98%) we all found the pain and suffering of these people hilarious.

One of the videos was of a guy sitting in front of a cake; it was quite obviously his birthday. His friends had lit the candles and sung _Happy Birthday_ to him. Then, they began to spray silly string all over him…and the silly string hit the candles…and the silly string caught on fire. As did the man. That one was more 'epic win' than funny.

Another video came on, a classic that we had all seen before, of a chubby little boy screaming on a ride at an amusement park, sliding down in his seat, truly terrified. We all guffawed at the terror on his face.

That one was followed by another video…a video that made us _all _stop laughing and just stare at the screen for a moment. Except for Max, who was snickering beside of me. On the screen before us was a teenage boy, about 15, his face covered in make-up, and you could see the straps to a red dress…with rhinestones down the side.

_She did NOT send that video in…_

A few giggles could be heard in the background along with a light click, before a song started playing. A song by the name of _Numa Numa_. The boy started lip-synching and pumping his arms.

_…she sent the video in…_

I stared at the television screen in horror. Utter horror. I could not believe it. I could almost SEE the grin on Max's face spreading as we all sat there watching the horrible scene unfold. Well, horrible in my eyes. OBVIOUSLY the people around me found it quite hilarious, since they were all laughing their arses off. Gazzy was literally rolling on the floor laughing, having fallen from his perch on the arm of the couch. I turned to face Max, my eyes narrow. "Maximum fucking Ride, if I didn't love you so much and know I'd regret it the moment your heart stopped beating, I would stab you 52 times in the heart with a McDonald's stroon, cut you up with a rusted knife and behead you with a Whopper. You. Are. So. Lucky."

Max stopped laughing enough to look at me with those sweet brown eyes of hers. "Fang, just calm down. Don't do anything rash now." But by the last word of her sentence she was in hysterics again, re-joining everyone else. I was the only one not laughing. I was fuming. This was not funny.

"Max," Ella said, still giggling a bit. "Y-you may want to run now."

And run she did. One look at my face and Max bolted from the couch, launching herself out the living room window. I followed her, quick on her tail. We soared through the sky, her speeding through the night and me just trying to keep up and catch her. She slowed down a bit, and I took the chance, diving at her legs. Of course, though, she had a plan all along. She pulled her legs in, doing a flip mid-air and spiraling from my reach. I swooped in a large arc back up, straight towards her. I caught her around the waist; her wings slapping me in the face as I flew up higher, then dove back down.

"FANG! Let go! I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!" She cried out, laughs cutting into her sentence every now and then. "Please don't murder me!" I slowed down as we neared the Earth, though I was slightly distracted by her flailing figure and we both went tumbling across Dr. Martinez's back yard. She let out a cry of surprise as we rolled across the grass, finally stopping with her on her back and me on top of her, pinning her down. "I'm sorry, Fang." She said earnestly, looking up at me with her big, brown, hard-to-not-believe eyes. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I know, I know. But seriously? America's Funniest Home Videos?" I asked. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Why not?"

"It's embarrassing?"

"Fang the Brick Wall is embarrassed?"

"…a little bit."

"That's adorable. Look at it this way, at least no one _knows _it's you."

"You irk me."

"But you still love me."

"Somehow…"

Max grinned at me and I leaned down, leaving a light kiss on her lips. I stood up, grabbing Max's hand to help her up as well. Intertwining our fingers, we walked back into the house, where we found the others finally calming down from her laugh.

"Hey, Max, you're in one piece!" Ella cheered.

"Fang loves me too much to hurt me." Max told her.

"Right. I'll just be making her life a living hell until I think I've had enough revenge." I smirked.

"This should be fun…" Max muttered. "I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."She turned to go upstairs, but I grabbed her arm.

"Wait," I pulled the disc from my pocket. "You can have this back…I don't think there's much sense in me stealing it from you if you've already done the worst with it."

Max smiled and took the case from me, continuing her way upstairs.

* * *

**Now for announcements AFTER the chapter. **

**Iggy: Yes, what do we say now?**

**Me: Hmm...so, any of you ever asked me a question that I never answered in a Q&A? Still want it answered? Hop on over to Formspring. We have one now, feel free to ask anything, and I'll answer it(as long as it's not too personal). Link on my profile. Along with links to other websites I'm on if you feel like stalking me. **

**Iggy: Ever feel like punching a rock? Well...that's probably not smart...so why don't you just scream into a pillow instead. It's safer. Less hurtful. **

**Me: -facepalm- Anyway, we've got to head off to school now. So...**

**R&R?**


	26. And So It Begins

Hm, I hoped to have this up yesterday, but let's just pretend it's still yesterday. :) I mean, it's only 1 AM. Anyway, so, yesterday (Jan. 23rd) was my birthday and so I decided, "Hey, why don't I FINALLY update something?" And...so, I pulled a chapter of RDG out of my bum.

Literally. This chapter had no plan. I just kinda sat down and wrote it up in about two hours, so...sorry if it sucks too bad. Saint said it was postable though, soooo...

HAPPY MY BIRTHDAY, you get a present! YAY! :D

Oh, and also, today (Jan. 24th) is a certain bird-kids birthday as well. :) FANG!

Well, Saint's Fang. Heh. Anyway, so it's his birthday today, and he is officially 20. YAAAY! HE'S ALL ADULT-Y AND MATURE!

...BAHAHAHA!

Right, anyway, so, I hope you like this chapter. :)

* * *

"Maax," Fang groaned. I rolled my eyes, turning onto my side to look at him.

"What now?" I sighed, trying to keep the aggravation out of my voice. Unsuccessfully, might I add.

"I'm thirsty." He said in his whiniest voice. In the darkness I resisted my urge to throttle the life out of him for waking me up again and tossed the blankets off of myself, standing up.

I was still paying for sending that video in to America's Funniest Home Videos by being Fang's personal slave, which meant I had to get up at unearthly hours to do whatever he felt needed to be done. For the past week I've been woken up at 3 AM on the dot by his whiny groans and told to get him water, or a cookie, a pillow, another blanket, a wet washcloth, a new pair of underwear, whatever it was he wanted to send me after. It was starting to get on my nerves.

"Oh, and Max?" Fang said just as I turned to knob to leave the room. I turned to look at him, my grip on the doorknob tightening.

"What is it, Fang?" I nearly growled. As you can tell, I am not a very happy person when I'm woken up at three in the morning and sent on a crazy trip to do something totally unnecessary.

"I need a pair of socks. Oh, and Sprinkles wants that container of icing out of the fridge?" He told me.

"Sprinkles?" I questioned.

"Yeah, y'know, the emo cupcake. He wants to wallow in self pity while eating icing." Fang explained. I sighed, shaking my head and walking out the door. Did I also mention that more than half the flock is sick? Fang included. Iggy and I are the only healthy ones, this has even hit Mom and Ella. So along with having to do whatever Fang asks me as payback, I also have to take care of the rest of the house. And whatever they have...it causes delusions. Ig and I have been able to keep their temperatures down for the most part at least. But Fang still insists on their being an emo cupcake in the corner of my room.

I sighed, knowing I shouldn't be that aggravated at Fang, seeing as he's sick and all. But really, three in the morning? EVERYDAY? If he weren't sick, I would so kick him out of my room.

"Someone aggravated?" A familiar voice asked when I slammed the fridge door closed. I turned to look at the boy standing in the middle of the kitchen, typing up a purple robe with pink polka dots on it. He had to stop stealing things from my sister's closet.

"What makes you say that, Ig?" I asked.

"Your death grip on that water bottle and your anger at the fridge." He answered. "And why do you have icing?"

"It's for 'Sprinkles'." I told him. "And I'm not usually my happiest at three in the morning. I apologize."

"Do you ever think that may Sprinkles is just Fang's emo side coming out?" Iggy said after a long moment of silence. "Y'know, like, his alter ego or something. Maybe Fang really is emo, we just don't know it 'cause he hides it so well in the form of a cupcake."

"I don't know..." I said slowly. "But I do know that Fang has a messed up mind since he's seeing emo cupcakes. I didn't know cupcakes could be emo." I continued my way back upstairs, handing Fang his bottle of water and sitting the icing in the corner of the room.

"Need anything else?" I asked him, running a hand through his hair gently. He was warm again, but not too much to be alarmed right now. It was probably just from being in my hot room. As we all know, my room is not the coolest.

"Open the window." He said, rolling back onto his side. "Oh, and go to sleep. You seem tired."

"Really now?" I muttered. I sighed, shaking my head, again, and opened the window before crawling back into the bed beside of him.

* * *

The next day was...interesting to say the least.

"Max! I'm thirsty."

"Iggy, where's my soup?"

"Max, it's hooot."

"Iggy, you never got me a water!"

"Max, it's cold!"

"Iggy, I need another blanket."

"Max, it's hot again!"

"Iggy, close the window."

"No, Max, don't let him, I'm burning."

"Iggy pleeease I'm freezing!"

"Max, it's cold now, close the window."

"Iggy, I want soup!"

"SPRINKLES WET THE BEEED!"

I leaned against the cabinets in the kitchen, totally worn out from running upstairs and back down so much.

"Okay, I have an idea." Iggy announced, coming back into the kitchen. I looked over at him as I prepared Angel's lunch. "Let's feed them chocolate, lots of chocolate. The sugar will make them hyper, give them energy, and they'll be able to do this stuff themselves instead of wearing us out all day."

I rolled my eyes. "Uh-huh, I'm sure that'll work, Igs. You get right to that."

"Well, either that, or we move all the sickies down to the living room so we only have to walk down the hall to get to them." He shrugged, putting a bowl of soup on the tray I was getting ready to take up to Angel.

"That, is actually a good idea." I said. "Mom's already on the first floor, so she can stay in her room...we can pull down a few matresses. Dang Ig, when did you get smart?"

"I have always been smart, I just never chose to show it," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure, you get some matresses or something and I'll take this up to Angel." I moved past him with the tray and hurried up the stairs. But somehow, my foot caught on the step above in, causing me to trip over it and land face first on the next few steps. The tray flew out of my hands, rolling back down the steps, and I followed them, bumping and hitting every step. I'm pretty sure I managed to hit my head on the railing and wall a couple times as well. There was a sharp pain in my right ankle.

"Max?" Iggy's voice called from the kitchen in alarm. I heard his footsteps coming towards me, then his hands under my arms, pulling me to my feet. I winced when I tried to put pressure on my foot, leaning into Iggy as he led me to the couch, taking my leg and examining my ankle.

"Looks like we've got another bed-ridden flock member. You sprained your ankle pretty bad." He said. "I'll wrap it and get you some ice. Just stay, don't move."

"But what about the rest of the flock?" I asked.

"I'll take care of them. They'll be fine, I'll help 'em migrate down here before lunch." He said.

"But don't you need help getting matresses and stuff down here?"

"Max, I can do it by myself. I am a man, just listen to my deep manly voice. I'm perfectly capable of this."

"You know, Fang's voice is deeper than yours."

"...shut up, Gimpy. It's 'cause he has black hair. We all know guys with darker hair have deeper voices. Doesn't make them anymore manly."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Just hush." He walked off.

And then I was joined by the rest of my sickly flock downstairs, everyone bed-ridden except for Iggy. Oh, how much fun Iggy will have for the next few days.

* * *

Iggy: So, you like it? Think Skits did a good job in those two hours of simply typing whatever came to her demented little mind? WELL TELL US!

You want MORE?

You want another CHAPTER?

REVIEW! Seriously, positive reviews inspire her to update. (Most of the time.)

Me: Actually, you'll have to wait for another week before the next RDG update, sadly. Why? Well, you all know St. Fang of Boredom, si? Well, if you do, then you probably know she's going to be going to Florida for the next week. And...she's my beta-reader...you making a connection?

I refuse to ever post a chapter without her reading it over first, since that's kinda why I asked her to be my beta. And heck, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be posting this, 'cause I honestly am not a fan of this chapter. BUT, anyway.

SO. R&R? (I may have more than one chapter next time. ;) )


	27. Reinforcments

And now, time for a very rare thing...an RDG update! :D

New chapter. New character. Not much to say.

Thanks to Saint and Fang as usual. And to readers. And such...

And Erica who I think is reading this as I type it...yeah. xD So, without further ado, RAINY DAY GAMES! :D

((MORE AT THE BOTTOM))

* * *

~Ig's POV~

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Max questioned, looking worried. "Why don't you just call Carmen and see if she can make a trip down here or something?"

"The last time me, Carmen and Ella were in the same room together it ended in a fist fight and the flinging of Spanish insults." I said, reminding her of the New Years fiasco. "Do you want a repeat of that?"

"Point...then bandage me up good and I'll help you." She insisted.

"Max, you have a sprained ankle and stretched muscle, you're not moving without those crutches, and there's not much you can do with them."

Max sighed. "Fine, but I'm meeting them with you, and if I don't approve it's not happening."

"Alright." I agreed, glad she had finally come around. "Now sit down, the first one will be here soon."

My attempts at caring for the entire flock myself were, well, a failure. I'd done everything in attempts to care for them and myself without losing my mind. At one point, I even tied trays to Total and Magnolia's backs and put bowls of soup and glasses of juice on them. It was at that point that I realized I had lost it and needed some help.

I checked the yellow pages and newspapers for anyone willing to help out, and after hours of flipping through names, making phone calls and vaguely explaining the situation (I decided it was best to leave out the part about our wings, the talking dog, and random, weird powers) I had made appointments to meet three people.

Max, being Max, was of course worried about this. She was never a fan of bringing strangers into the house(especially after the whole Stacey incident..).

There was a knock at the door as I handed Max a glass of water. I hurried over to answer it, and standing before me was a girl of average height. Bright red curls framed her oval face, her eyes were the brightest green I had ever seen, and her pale-yet-flawless skin was dotted with freckles. She smiled at me, her teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

"Hi, I'm here to help the Martinez fa-" She began, her voice soft and gentle, like velvet running through my ears. But her velvety voice was interrupted by a voice I could recognize from miles away.

"Sorry, no hookers, buh-bye." Max gave a fake smile and pushed the door shut with her crutch.

"That was rude." I commented, shaking the daze from my head.

"Did you see how she was dressed? If that dress had been any shorter it could've been a shirt!" She said.

I looked over at her, hardly comprehending what she was saying as the image of the girl returned to my mind. I tried to recall what she was wearing, but couldn't. So I (stupidly) said, "She had clothes?"

That earned me an eyeroll and a smack to the head that would've made Jethro Gibbs proud. Max turned and limped off, muttering something about 'brainless males..' or 'baconless meals'. I couldn't be sure, but they both sound pretty bad. Especially the baconless meals. The horror.

Now with bacon on my mind, I wandered into the kitchen. Max and I had given everyone a nice dose of NyQuil before our interviewees were supposed to arrive, so the flock, and Ella, were out cold. Dr. M, on the other hand, could fend for herself. Thankfully, she'd get up in the morning, make herself some tea, take some medicine, then disappear into her room for the remainder of the day.

There was another knock as I was rummaging through the cabinets and fridge, searching for bacon. I walked out to the front door to find Max had already answered in our doorway was a tough-looking guy. He had a bandana covering his balding head, tattoos over his arms which peeked out from a short-sleeved t-shirt that proclaimed he had a 'B.S' degree. His mouth was hidden by a caterpiller-like brown mustache. I felt myself visibly shudder.

"Sorry, but if you're looking for a biker gang or the Mafia, you're in the wrong place." I informed him, mentally mapping out where the closest weapons would be. Just in case.

"Actually, I'm here for the nanny job." He said in an uncharacteristaclly high voice. Max let out an inaudible laugh before closing the door in his face.

"That probably wasn't my smartest idea..." Max muttered, quickly locking the door.

"Did you see his mustache?" I asked. "Scariest thing I've ever seen." Max looked at me like I was stupid.

"A burly guy, probably the toughest person in Arizona, comes to our front door, looking like he could kill us with his pinky finger...and you're scared by his _mustache_?" She asked, bewildered. I nodded.

"Don't you watch TV, Max? Burly guys are always innocent. Do you know who usually does everything? Rape, murder, anything like that, do you know who's guilty? The guy with the creepy mustache." I exclaimed. "Just think about it! _The Lovely Bones_...Hitler! You know, I'm right."

"So, he had a creepy mustache, instantly making him suspect of pedophilic rape and murder...but he was scary looking, so he's instantly innocent." Max stated, leaning back against the door.

"You've got a point..." I said slowly. "The mustache is cancelled out by the scary looking features."

"Meaning?"

"Well, we don't know what he might do. He could be out there planting flowers, or he could be preparing to plow down the door and kill us like he's never killed anything before."

Max literally jumped a foot in the air when someone knocked on the door. I burst out laughing, catching her so she didn't hurt her ankle again. She shakily limped off to the dining room, where we'd be conducting our interview of sorts...y'know, if anyone ever made it through the front door.

I opened the door not knowing what to expect. I was kind of surprised to see that this time I was met by a normal looking human being. Or so I thought...

"So, let me get this straight..." Max said, adjusting herself in her chair. "You're trying to tell us that you have wings?"

"Don't act surprised." The boy said. "You know there are others like you out there, how else would I have heard about you?"

"The classifieds?" I tried. He rolled his eyes.

"Look, I know you all have wings too, that's why I'm here. My guardians found out and kicked me out, I don't want to go back into the foster system and I need help. You all know what it's like to be a freak with wings, no one else does. I'm here because I am willing to help you, if you'll help me." He sounded so professional when he said this. Max put on a 'serious-face-is-serious' expression and leaned towards him on her arms.

"Elaborate on this..."offer" of yours?" She requested. He leaned back cooly in his chair, his hands still clasped together on the table.

"You need someone to help, I need somewhere to stay." He said simply. "Think of me as a live-in nanny."

"And how do we know you're trustable?" She asked him.

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'trustworthy'." He stated. "And, I guess you'll just have to trust me."

"If you really know as much about us as you claim you do, you'd know trusting isn't really our forte."

"Look. If I wanted to kill you, turn you into the School, whatever you think I want to do, I would've done it already." He said. "I'm not plotting against you, I don't have some evil plan, becuase honestly, I'm too lazy for that. However, I will gladly push aside that laziness to wait on you hand and foot if it gives me a place to stay."

Max and I exchanged glances.

"What's your name?" I asked the boy. He looked at me, as if he hadn't noticed me until now.

"Dylan."

After one more silent-eye-to-eye-telekinesis conversation with Max I nodded.

"Welcome to your new home, Dylan. I'll show you to your room."

* * *

Just a warning: RDG!Dylan will probably be...far from Canon Dylan. For the simple fact that...well, I'mma have fun with him. :P Anyway, I have more to say here:

1) Thanks for sticking with my far and in-between updates, guys. :) I appreciate it.

2) If you feel like stalking me I'm now on Tumblr (LaSkits) and Formspring (Skits223) and other places. Links are on my profile...Go stalk me! :D

3) I met VeraAmber today. Quite awesome. And I'm hanging out with her tomorrow. :P Be jealous.

4) Yes, I have cancelled a few stories. They're up for adoption as well. Except for Letters. If you're interested, PM me.

5) REVIEW! :D Tell me what you think of the new chapter. As usual, it's not my favorite, but you all seem to like those best. :P

And that's all!

R&R


	28. Fang's Dream

HEY PEOPLE! Dear God, I'm in SUCH a good mood, it's insane. XD

Iggy: Seriously...it's weird.

Me: Anyway, so, I wrote another chapter. Just pulled it out of my bum. Why? Felt like updating. XD Actually, you can probably thank **the-mighty-rhodes **for that, because he pulled me out of my slump o' horrid sadness last night and made me want to write. xD

Anyway, before I start this chapter I'mma add onto my disclaimer by saying this: I DO NOT OWN Glee, Crookshanks, Harry Potter, or faeries. :P

Hope you enjoy the chapter, it seems that the chapters I'm really not sure of are always the ones when I get the reply from Saint that says "OHGOD THIS WAS HILARIOUS BAHAHA I LOVED IT".

Or, well, close to that...

Anyway, on with the chapter.

* * *

~Fang's POV~

I watched the little faeries as they pranced about my room. One of them, beating on a bongo, kept staring at me with a creeper smile, scaring me a little. Sprinkles sat in the corner, chocolate icing covering his rainbow sleeve and mixing with his vanilla icing-hair. He looked at me glumly, then burst into tears because he was out of icing. Darn emo, so over-emotional. I pulle da sombrero from under my bed and tossed it at him. He seemd to cheer up. Suddenly, one of the faeires jumped me. I tried to scream, but it put it's little faerie hand over my mouth. It's face slowly melted away to reveal and grinning cat. _Cats can grin? _

"Crookshanks!" A familiar female voice called out. Hermione Granger stepped out from the shadows and I suddenly found myself at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students in long black robes milled around, each adorning something to symbolize their seperate houses. Hermione had a red and gold scarf around her neck that flowed behind her as she came over to remve her cat from my face. She vanished in a flash and was replaced by a blonde man, probably in his 30s.

"Mr. Schuester?" I exclaimed, wondering what the Glee director was doing at _this_ school. "I didn't know you were a wizard!"

"I graduated from Pigfarts, I'm just here to help Professor Snape with his Potions class." Mr. Schuester informed me, idley playing with the wand in his hand. I stared down at it, then at the wand that magically appeared in my hand.

"So, what're you doing here, Fang?" Mr. Schue questioned me. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I...uh, I think I am." I told him. "Call me crazy, but I'm almost positive this is just some fever-induced dream."

"The Night Quills might've helped you conjure up all this, too," Mr. Schue gestured to the Hogwarts castle and the students still moving around us. I looked down to find that I had changed into robes and even had a pointy hat on my head. I giggled.

"OHMYGOD LOOK EVERYONE IT'S WILLIAM SCHEUSTER!" A high pitched voice with a heavy British accent shouted. Draco Malfoy appeared out of the students, runnning up to Mr. Schue and begging for his autograph. "You're, like, the most famous wizard to ever graduate from Pigfarts. I must simply have your autograph. And your picture. CAN I HAVE A SIGNED PAIR OF YOUR UNDIES? Or do you wear diapers? ALL respectable wizards wear diapers, you know. But my father made me learn to use the big boy potty..."

Mr. Schuester's face could only be described by three letters: W. T. F?

Suddenly a blonde man came walking on scene, and Draco absolutely flipped.

"LOOK MR. SCHUESTER! That's my Papa! My Daddy! DAD-DEE! HE HAS COME TO LOVE ME!" And Draco then ran off. This was when I decided it'd be best to leave. I used all my remaining energy into removing myself from this Harry Potter allusion.

* * *

I blinked my eyes groggily, rubbing the sleep away as I woke up. I felt like crap and wished I could go back to sleep until I was healthy again. I looked around at my sleeping flock...and the lack of Iggy and Max. My throat was so dry, I couldn't even call out for them to ask for some water or juice. I groaned silently and pulled myself up into a sitting postion...then off the couch...then slowly made my way to the kitchen.

I found Max and Iggy talking to some strange boy. His blonde hair fell perfectly across his forehead, his blue eyes were bright when they met mine. I think I literally turned into puddlemush right then and there.

"Who's he?" I asked, my voice slurring. Max said something, but I couldn't hear her, I was too focused on the new guy's face. I walked up to him, my hand outstretched, and stroked his cheek. His skin was so soft...

"Um.."

Ohmycheesygritpebbles. His voice was like an angel's. I turned into puddlemush once again.

"Pretty..." I murmured, reaching out to touch him again, but Iggy swatted my hand away.

"Fang, this is Dylan. He's going to be a live-in nanny for a bit." He told me. I smiled, wrapping my arms around Dylan's neck and let myself fall into him. He let out a surprised sound and Max grabbed my arm.

"Come on, Fang, let's get you back into the living room..." She said slowly, prying me off of Dylan and dragging me away. I stretched my hand out to him, reaching out for at least one of the three Dylan's that appeared in my vision. Max smacked my hand down again, muttering a quick apology to Dylan before dragging me to the living room and forcing me to lay down on the couch. I wondered how she managed to do this on crutches, but the thought left as soon as it came.

"You need to rest, Fang." She told me, feeling my forehead. "You're burning up. Jeez, no wonder you're throwing yourself all over strange guys. You should..."

But I was already asleep once again before she finished her sentence.

* * *

~Dylan's POV~

I followed Iggy as he led me up the stairs to my room, which just so happen to actually be Fang's room. The kid that just threw himself on me. This would be an awkward stay, I could tell already.

"So, does he, um, do that often?" I asked. Iggy turned to him, flicking on the light to Fang's bedroom.

"Sometimes." He answered. "Sometimes he's actually sane and simply settles with eating Max's face off. Welcome to your room, I hope you enjoy it. I cannot promise you that Fang will not sneak up here and rape you, but I can promise you'll enjoy it if he does."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Um...how?"

"You probably don't want to know." Iggy sat down on the edge of the dark bed, which accompanied every other dark thing in this room. "So, for your initiation-"

"Wait, initiation?"

"Yeah, just to make sure you're serious about all this." Iggy told me. "So, for your intiation, you will take care of the entire flock for a day."

"With no help from you or Max?" I asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Nope. Max is on crutches, if you didn't notice, and I'm tired of waiting on them." He faked a yawn and laid back on the bed. "They should be waking up about now, you might want to get down there."

And sure enough, not a second later, a little girl's voice carried it's way up the stairs, calling for some juice. This ought to be fun.

* * *

ALSO I DO NOT OWN THIS QUOTE: "Mr. Schuester! I didn't know you were a wizard!"

THAT is ALL Saint. XD I just stole it because I'm cool. :P

Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

Iggy: R&R?

Me: It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. :)

Y'know what else gives me a warm fuzzy feeling?

KURT GOING BACK TO MCKINELY! FRICK YEAH! -is a major gleek- GLEE COMES ON TONIGHT AND I'M SO EXCITED. :D BAHA YAY!

Anyway, seriously, review. :I Please. xD


	29. Redvine Sandwiches

**WARNING: **I wrote this as I watched A Very Potter Sequel. It will probably lack sense.

**THANKS TO: **Saint and Fang. Starkid Potter. The Mighty Rhodes.

**ENJOY OR I WILL SIC EVIL DWARFS ON YOU!**

* * *

~Dylan's POV~

Fang was really starting to creep me out, it was like he was in love with me or something, and I wasn't sure if it was due to the fever or if he was being legit.

"Dyylaaan." He called out, his voice hoarse.

"What now?" I asked impatiently. This had been the fiftieth time he'd called me today. No exaggeration.

"Sprinkles needs his diaper changed." He told me, pointing to the corner of the room. I cocked my head like a dog in confusion.

"Who?" I asked. Fang simply thrusted his finger at the corner.

"His imaginary emo cupcake." The little girl on the floor beside him informed me, I think her name was Angel.

"...imaginary cupcakes wear diapers?" I asked slowly. Fang looked at me as if I were an idiot.

"Dude, he's a wizard. All respectable wizards wear diapers." He told me, then rolled his eyes. "Nevermind, but, uh...maybe you could help me change. I feel all icky in these clothes I feel like I need a shower." He winked at me. I felt myself physically shudder.

"Um. Nah. I think you're healthy enough to manage that yourself." I quickly looked around for an excuse to leave, noticing the clock. "Oh, almost noon, I'll go make your lunch." I hurriedly went to the kitchen, taking five plates out of the cabinet and searching for the bread.

As I spread peanut butter onto slices of wheat bread I thought of quitting, but then I recalled the fact that if I stepped foot out of this house I'd probably be pounced on by three werewolves, two vampires, a house elf, thirty faeries, ten wizards, a couple warlocks, a few Shadowhunters, twenty demi-Gods, five Flyboys, an Eraser, and a couple pencils. Approximately.

I am a wanted man. But, that's not really a story to be told while making peanut butter sandwiches for sick mutants. It's more of a story to be told while cooking tomato, liver and bratwurst soup for an angry mob of dwarves. Who knows when that's going to happen? Probably right after I take a class on how to properly use foreshadowing.

As I finished the third sandwich I heard a knock at the front door. I sighed, sitting the knife and bread down on the plate. I knew Max and Iggy wouldn't answer it, they were both passed out upstairs. (Passed out as in asleep, in case you were wondering. I did not do anything illegal or immoral to them, I promise you.) I calmly opened the door to see a perky looking girl standing beside a big, burly, muscley man.

"Um. Can I help you?" I asked, slightly intimidated by the man. I mean, he had a creepy mustache and everything. Sure his muscles cancelled out the creeper 'stache, but it was still intimidating.

"I think you all weren't very kind with picking your nanny." The girl said in an oddly deep voice. I furrowed my brows.

"Er, what?"

"Wait," the man said, his voice high pitched. "Are _you_ the new nanny?" I nodded slowly and the two exchanged evil glances. I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Before I knew it the guy put a cloth over my face and the girl, who was surprisingly strong for her size, had me over her shoulder, whisking me away. And then, I fell unconscious. I'm not sure if it was from whatever they put over my face, or from hitting my head on multiple unidentified objects as they fled from the house. Either way, I was kinda glad to get knocked out. I was exhausted.

* * *

~Fang's POV~

"GIVE ME THE REDVINE YOU LITTLE POOF!" I shouted, pushing Draco to the floor. He smacked me across the face, throwing me off of him.

"ONLY DADDY CAN CALL ME A POOF!" He screamed, tackling me. He really wasn't much, quite easy to handle actually. Such a frail little boy.

"I. WANT. THE. REDVINE!" I yelled. "I AM IN A RAGE!" I pinned Draco to the floor once more, grabbing one wrist and holding it over his head. His other arm flailed about around my head, thwacking me multiple times with the object I was attempting to obtain. The Redvine.

"YOU WANT THE REDVINE? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE REDVINE!" Draco thwacked me once more, freeing his other wrist and grabbing my hair. _He touched my hair! _I pulled the wand out of my back pocket, pointing it at his face threateningly.

"YOU LITTLE SHI-" I began, but I was cut off.

"What the devil is going on heeere!"

Draco and I stopped and looked up as the black haired proffessor entered the room, holding his cape out on each side like a vampire.

"Nothing, Snape!" We both said at the same. Snape simply looked us over, cocking his eyebrow.

"We're just having some...uh...homoerotic fun!" Draco burst out.

"Uh...yeah, with redvines!" I added, grinning. Draco nodded vigurously. Snape looked us for a moment more...and then walked off, muttering something about not wanting to know. I looked back down at Draco.

"So, can I have the redvine now?" I asked kindly. But Malfoy didn't get the chance to respond. He was suddenly attacked by a...well, I don't know really. I was thrown away from the fight as soon as it began, and I believe I might've been momentarily knocked out, but when I came to and looked back over to Draco I saw Dylan standing over him. He took his first two fingers and grabbed his nose, then proceeded to act as if he were eating it. After that he reached to his bum, grabbed Draco's 'nose' and put it back to his face. I heard him say, in a harsh whisper, "You have a poop nose now, you little poof." Dylan stood up and walked over to me. He had saved me. AND MY REDVINE!

He knelt down beside me, handing me the candy. "Fang, are you okay?" I nodded, but he proceeded to say my name, repeatedly. I felt as if I were shaking, like there was an earthquake, but it was only effecting me. More specifically, my right shoulder.

"Fang. FANG. FAANG! _FANG!" _

Slowly, reality tore apart my dream and I opened my eyes to Iggy's face. I can't say it was a bad sight to awaken to, but I really just wanted to go back to my dream Dylan and the redvines.

I blinked away the sleep in my eyes, still feeling like absolute crap.

"Fang, have you seen Dylan?" Iggy asked me anxiously. I shook my head slowly, trying to comprehend what was going on.

"Iggy..." I said slowly. "Where did you get that tail?" Iggy's brow furrowed and he cocked his head to the side.

"What the spell are you talking about, Fang?" Iggy sighed shaking his head. "Nevermind, just...jeez, none of you have seen Dylan?" He swept his head to look at the entire flock.

"He went to the kitchen to make us sammiches." Gazzy said quietly from somewhere on the floor below me.

"Hey, Ig," Max's voice called as she limped into the room. "Do you think the door standing precariously ajar could have anything to do with Dylan's disappearance?"

"Maybe an angry mob of dwarves came in and stole him away because they wanted him to make them some tomato, liver and bratwurst stew." I spoke up. Max facepalmed, and Iggy facetailed. _Where the heck did he get that tail? Has he always had that? _I shook the thought from my head.

"Well, there are two things we can do here." Iggy started. "We can either stay here and forget about him, or someone can go look for him."

I looked up at him with wide eyes, "We can't forget about Dill-Dill!"

"Okay then, who's going to go?" Max asked.

"I WILL!" I sat up quickly, then grabbed my head to stop the spinning. Note to self: Don't sit up so fast next time. "Iggy and I can. We will save Dill-Dill!" I thrust my fist into the air.

"Fang, you can hardly sit up, there's no way you can go looking for Dylan." She told me, sitting down in a chair across the room.

"I can too! I'm almost healthy. Let me go, please Max?" I begged, giving her the puppy dog pout and all. Max and Iggy exchanged looks. After a few minutes of silence she sighed.

"Fine, Iggy don't let him hurt himself." She said. "And don't take too long. Just find him, get him, come home."

Iggy looked at her like she was crazy, but I don't really see why. I thought it was a brilliant idea. I stood up slowly, straightening my shirt.

"Iggy, get the redvines, I'm going to go change. My clothes smell like dirty puppy poo." I began my way upstairs, searching my room for new clothes.

I noticed a mysterious suitcase sitting on my bed, which I supposed was Dylan's. I grabbed a shirt from it, thinking that maybe if I wore something of his I'd be able to find him easier. I got my own pants though. I don't think it's right to get into someone's pants until you've known them for at least three days.

Once I thought I was ready I went downstairs and soon, Iggy and I were out the door, searching for my love. Um. I mean, Dylan.

Oh, screw it. I love him.

* * *

MWAHAHAHAHA. YES. FYLAN.

By the way, some people got confused with Iggy being able to see. Just to clear that up: Iggy miraculously regained his sight back when they were staying with Max's family and didn't tell anyone but Ella until they were on their way back home after their little trip in the mountains where Fang got attacked. Remember that whole deal? He tried to tell everyone Max was preggers. So, he can see now. :) Alright? Hope that clears everything up.


	30. Fever Powers

Ohai. Is this a...a...double update? :O Don't you just LOVE me now?

I hope so. I like being loved. :)

Anyway, I'll proceed with the chapter. :)

* * *

~Max's POV~

"Is Fang going to die?" Nudge asked after Fang and Iggy were out the door. I shook my head.

"I don't think so, Nudge." I assured her, but I really didn't know. Why did I just let a fever stricken bird-boy go out to search for someone we had just met? I mentally slapped myself for my momentary lapse in judgement, then got up and bolted for the door. Well, as fast as you can bolt on crutches. So, really, I just hobbled rather quickly, but 'bolt' sounds much better, don't you think?

By the time I got to door, the boys had already taken off. I watched as they disappeared into the distance, Iggy flying strong and steady, and Fang flying...not so steady. Definitely not as majestic as he usually is. Now instead of moving like a black panther with wings, he moved more like a mentally unstable platybear with wings. (If you were part platypus and part bear, you'd be mentally unstable, too.)

I made my way back to the living room, trying not to think of all the horrible things that could happen to them.

"Max?" Angel said in the saddest yet sweetest voice I've ever heard the child use. I looked down at her sad face, her skin was pale and sweaty from the fever, and she was shivering. "I know you're hurt and all but...I think I need a bucket..."

Oh Lord. I moved as fast as I could to the kitchen, grabbing the closest bucket I saw. But of course, I was too late. Angel had already upchucked her breakfast, and it looked like the others were ready to do the same. I tossed the bucket ot Ella, knowing she had the weakest stomach, and grabbed Gasman and Nudge by their arms.

"Everyone evacuate, if you feel the need to barf, _please _check in to the nearest bathroom. Remember, even potties need to eat."

Ella put the bucket into use quickly and within moments Nudge and Gazzy had abandoned my sides, running to the closest bathroom.

This was going to be a long day...

* * *

~Iggy's POV~

"Hey, Ig, look at that dragon!" Fang exclaimed, pointing to the land below us as he flew. He wobbled slightly, letting a giggle escape his throat.

"There's no dragon, Fang." I sighed for hte eightieth time in the past hour. Why did I agree to this? Why did Max even consider it for a minute? Letting Fang and I go off to save some random guy we _just _met was a stupid decision on its own, but add in Fang being _sick _with a fever that made him delirious? Idiotic thought. Stupidest. Idea. _EVER. _

But I went along with it, and now I'm stuck with a delusional Fang who continues to think he's seeing dragons and whatnot. I had a really, really bad feeling about this.

"Come on, Fang, let's land." I ordered, beginning to descend. Fang reluctantly followed my orders and we landed in the middle of a forest. It weirdly resembled the forest from _Little Red Riding Hood_. I kept doing 360s, expecting to see a wolf pop up and try to steal our non-existant pastries.

Sure enough, after walking for about half an hour, Fang and I encountered a wolf. It stood in our path, it's back arched and teeth bared, letting out a nasty growl from deep inside it's chest. I began to back away slowly, pulling Fang along side me. But you know what the lunatic does? He starts _talking _to the wolf. This is exactly what I was afraid of. We'd get into a dangerous situation and Fang's fevered brain would fail to comprehend just how much danger we were in. Now he was having delusions, probably of the wolf standing there holding a cup of tea, dressed in some fancy suit with a monocule and offering him a chance to have a spot of tea with the Queen of England.

* * *

~Fang's POV~

"It's okay, wolfy, we don't mean any harm." I said calmly. I could see Iggy from the corner of my eye, looking at me like I was insane. He could at least be thankful that I'm trying to save his life. The wolf looked up at me and I could tell from it's eyes that it didn't want to hurt us. It stopped growling and slowly walked towards me. I held my hand out welcomingly. Iggy put his hand on my arm, ready to pull me away from the creature, but I shook it away.

The wolf sniffed at my hand curiously, then looked up at me.

_"What're you doing out here in the woods?" _Wolfy asked.

"We're looking for our friend." I informed him. "He has blonde hair, about as tall as me, really pretty...Have you seen him?"

Wolfy thought for a moment, then told me, _"I think he passed through here with two other people, a girl and a man." _

"Where did they go?" I asked, petting Wolfy's head.

_"Thirty more paces that way," _- he pointed behind him with his nose - _"to a little house under three large oak trees." _

"Thank you, Wolfy." I said, petting behind his ear. Wolfy licked my hand gratefully and walked back into the forest, leaving us to be on our way.

Iggy stood beside me, looking flabberghasted.

"What was that?" He asked. "Did that wolf...did he just...What is this? I don't even..."

"We have to go thirty more paces this way, come on." I grabbed Iggy's hand and began walking, counting my footsteps. "One, two, three, four, five, six..."

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Love it? Dislike it? Wanna shoot me for writing it?

Tell me in a review.

Yes. Fang can magically talk to wolves when he's sick. XD

R&R! :D


	31. Dwarf Plant Stew

I have RDG-block. Horrid RDG-block. So horrid that it physically pained me to pull this chapter out. Legit physical pain.

And, I wanted to just sit this down for a bit and come back and maybe re-work it...but that just isn't happening. I waited a week before finally sitting down and finishing it. I think I wrote it in half an hour or less, then stared at it for hours and hours trying to think of anything to make it better. No dice. So I sent it to Saint finally, she says it's not suckish (though I really must disagree). Her only suggestion was the re-work the ending...and I tried...and it hurts. I just want this chapter over with. . So, screw re-working. I'm posting so I can just get it over with.

Gracias Saint and Fang for being great betas and such. -thumbs up- Thanks to all of you for still reading.

Iggy: And I completely agree with Saint. This story is definitely winning the award for 'most random story that still, somehow has a plot and a point'.

Me: Oh, Iggy, it seems like it's been forever since you've commented in the A/N.

Iggy: Yeah, decided to fix that. :P Just let 'em get on with reading.

Me: Right. Announcement type thing in the bottom A/N!

* * *

"Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirt-ow!" I looked up from the ground and rubbed my head, my nose pressed against a giant wooden door. "Wow, when Wolfy said thirty paces he was right on." I reached for the giant door-knocker-thingy (what's that thingy called?), but Iggy knocked my hand back down.

"Fang, I don't really think this is safe..." He said, voice full of concern.

"Wolfy would never harm us, Iggles." I assured him, reaching again for the knocker.

"Fang, that was a WOLF. It did not TALK." Iggy nearly shouted.

"Yeah he did, you heard him." I frowned, hurt that Iggy would think I'd lie to him. I felt tears sting my eyes.

"I'm going INSANE, Fang!" Iggy told me. "I'm looking for a complete stranger with a total _loon_. That freaking TREE could start talking at any point now."

A tear rolled down my face. Why was Iggy yelling at me? And why was he calling me a loon? I didn't know, but it hurt my feelings really bad. I glared at him, flipping him off before turning to the door and knocking. It was quiet inside the house for a long moment, then light footsteps came toward the door. The door swung open, revealing Dylan wearing a white apron with red stains on it. He looked surprised to see us, and upon further investigation I realized he was holding a red-stained knife in his hand. I'm sure the shock and horror was obvious on my face as I slowly backed away, hiding behind Iggy.

"Fang? Iggy? What are you two doing here?" Dylan asked.

"We could ask you the same thing." Iggy said, crossing his arms. The way the two of them were looking at each other, I was expecting a giant pool of pudding to fall from the sky and then the two boys would start fighting in it. That'd be hot. I think I'll put that on my Christmas list.

"I was kidnapped, and now I'm being forced to make stew to feed some dwarves for mysterious reasons." Dylan told us. "Your turn."

I momentarily forgot about the knife and ran towards Dylan, wrapping my arms around him and exclaiming, "WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOU, DILLY-WILLY!" Dylan pushed me away quickly.

"DYLAN. Who's at the door?" A harsh voice called from inside. Sharp clicks filled my ears as a girl rushed towards the door, her heels clacking annoyingly. Iggy's eyes seemed to glaze over when the girl appeared. She glared at me. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Iggy pushed me back out of the way.

"We're the male strippers." He said, grinning. "They didn't tell us that our client would be so…heart-stoppingly beautiful." He winked and took her hand, kissing it. The ginger whisked her hand away, pulling out a rather long and sharp knife and pointing it at Iggy.

"I'll show you heart-stopping, now who _are you_?" She hissed, her green eyes alive with anger. Suddenly realization dawned on her. "Wait, you're that guy that slammed the door in my face earlier!"

"Actually, that was Max, I would have never slammed the door in that pretty little face." Iggy smiled charmingly, but the girl wasn't buying it. "Dylan, go back and finish feeding the stew…I'll take care of our visitors." She looked from Iggy to me, an evil glint in her eye.

* * *

~Dylan's POV~

I went back to my stew, which I was to feed to the dwarves to fatten them up for Audrey 2. Yes, that's why I was kidnapped. To make stew. I can't believe they risked my life in bringing me here _just _so I could make them some stupid soup for their angry mob of dwarves.

Now, I'll suppose you are wondering _why _I'm a wanted man, and I did say it was the story to be told while making stew for a mob of angry dwarves. I suppose I can tell you now, can't I? Well, it all started shortly after I was created. I was cloned from a boy named Dylan that died in a car crash. Now, I obviously don't know this boy, I didn't know much about what happened to him before he died, I just know that he got hit by a semi truck and his life was gone.

Apparently, this boy was a horrid person. He killed kittens, he shot puppies with BB guns, he poisoned guppies. It was awful, the only useful thing the boy was doing was studying to become a dentist. Well, right before he died he had gotten himself into some trouble. He robbed a bank. He actually robbed five banks in a row. Wearing a duck suit. He got away with a total of $1,223,336,978,445,759,178,260. I didn't even know that much money existed. So basically, the fact that I'm wanted isn't even my fault. Human Dylan was caught by the cops, but escaped in a stolen car and got hit by a semi, then they cloned him and created _me. _I accidentally came back to the town in which Human Dylan had robbed the banks. And they wanted me dead, then I heard about the Flock being here and turned to them for refuge. Hopefully they don't know Human Dylan's awful history, and seeing as they didn't pull out shotguns and boomerangs the moment they saw me, I'll suppose they don't. I might be safe with them, or they might just kill me. Maybe these people are planning to feed me to Audrey 2 as well. I really don't know what the future holds, the most I can do is stand here and stir this soup as I tell you my backstory, and then I can try to rebuild the fourth wall.

"Dylan! The dwarves are hungry." Matt shouted in his annoyingly high pitched voice. He was the big guy that had kidnapped me, and I swear he's thirty and still hasn't hit puberty. That's worse than Justin Bieber. At least Justin's voice finally dropped. Good for him. I sighed and grabbed fifteen bowls from the cabinet of the tiny kitchen, spooning some stew into each one before serving it up to the dwarves.

On my way back to the kitchen I caught sight of the horrible plant they were about to be fed to. Audrey 2. It looked like a ginormous Venus Flytrap, but it didn't eat flies, no, it ate humans.

It was about to eat fifteen well-fed dwarves.

* * *

Before you ask, yes I have seen Little Shop of Horrors. :P That _is _where Audrey 2 comes from. That number for how much money he stole? Totally made up. I just hit random numbers.

Now, announcement type thing, I'm thinking of writing a new fanfic. It's Fang-centric. AU. A 'switched-at-birth' type of deal and that's all I'm saying. How many would read it?

Anyway, did that chapter pain you to read as much as it pained me to write? Was it actually some how _good_? R&R&Tell me!


	32. The End

2 years, 2,267 hits(actually, I think Vera said it was 38,613 hits...but I dunno. I'm probably looking somewhere different than she was.), 700 reviews, countless laughs... and here is the part I'm sure we've all been dreading.

Well, first, I'd just like to say, you all are amazing. You've stuck with me for _two years. _Whether you're here because you stumbled across it and loved it, or because you saw it advertised on Saint's page and thought 'Well, she's the beta, it must be pretty good', either way, you're here, you've been reading, you've dealt with my horrid updating skills and my _extremely_ random twists and turns, and I love each and every one of you for that.

Yup, this is a sappy A/N. I apologize, but I just feel the need to tell you how much I appreciate you all reading this. I mean, _SEVEN HUNDRED REVIEWS_. When I joined FF I was ecstatic to get _five_.

Anyway, it's been 2 years, I honestly am out of ideas for this story, so...It's time for it to end. I hate this as much as you do, RDG has been my baby.

Iggy: Seriously, sometimes she rocks it to sleep.

Me: -facepalm- That's not true. Anyway, yeah, thanks to Saint and Fang for being my amazing betas (without that, I probably wouldn't have the supermegafoxyawesomehot best friend/mother I have now), and thank _you. _

So, without further ado, I give you...the final chapter of **Rainy Day Games with the Flock**.

* * *

~Fang's POV~

I burst through the kitchen door, sweeping Dylan up in my arms. He looked at me with a surprised expression.

"What are you doing?" He exclaimed.

"I'm saving you!" I told him, running towards the front door.

"Would you put me down?" Dylan wriggled out of my arms as we passed through the door, falling onto the wet, muddy ground. Rain fell heavily around us. Iggy soon joined us.

"Okay, I knocked them out, but they won't be out for long, so we better get going." He told us. I nodded and pulled Dylan to his feet and the three of us began our long trek through the forest.

* * *

~Max's POV~

"Max, it's hot."

"No, it's cold, don't listen to her."

"Max, I'm _burning!_"

"But I'm _freezing!_"

"_I'M MEELTIINGG!_"

"Guys, stop yelling!" I exclaimed. "Ella, I'll open the window. Gazzy, I'll get you a blanket. Anyone else need anything?"

"Juice?" Angel asked sweetly. I nodded and set off to get the juice and blanket.

But, of course, as I was about to pour the juice, there was a loud knock at the door. I jumped, spilling some of the juice onto the counter. I swore under my breath and reached for a rag to clean up the spill. Another knock.

"I'll be right there." I called, cleaning up the last of the juice. I hurried to the door, unlocking it. Iggy, Fang and Dylan stood on the front step, soaking wet and muddy.

"What happened to you three?" I asked, stepping back so they could come in.

"T-talking wolf…man eating plant…losing my mind…" Iggy muttered, walking through the door. "I'll be in my room…"

I looked to Fang and Dylan as they began their explanation.

* * *

_Three weeks later…_

~Fang's POV~

Finally, the flock was healthy again, things had gotten back to normal, and I was no longer hitting on Dylan every waking moment. That fever _really_ messed with my head. Since the flock had gotten better, Dylan was sent on his way. He said something about how he was 'wanted', but we assured him he'd be safe.

I joined Max, Iggy and Nudge on the couch as they watched some movie about a band that seemed to be obsessed with lemonade.

"Max, I'm bored." Gazzy sighed, flopping down onto the floor at our feet. Max looked down at him.

"I thought you and Angel were helping Ella and Mom with the garden." Max said, ruffling his hair.

"It's raining." He groaned, falling onto his back. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, lightning flashed from the window and the air filled with rumbling thunder. The lights flickered.

"Intense storm…" Iggy muttered. Ella ran into the room as another bolt of lightning flashed.

"I want to watch TV," Gazzy said, sitting up and reaching for the remote. Nudge slapped his hand.

"I'm watching this." She told him. Gazzy frowned, but settled back against Max's legs and watched the movie with Nudge.

"It's a bit wet outside," Ella commented, ringing her hair out.

"And you're getting my floor wet." Dr. M said, pulling her daughter into the kitchen, probably so she could ring her hair out in the sink instead of onto the carpet. Angel soon joined us in the living room, and the flock sat in silence for a while, watching the Disney movie on the TV as the storm raged on.

It wasn't until Ella joined us, throwing herself across Iggy, Max and I, that things turned south. Almost as soon as she flopped down, lightning flashed, thunder roared and the lights flickered then went out. Angel and Nudge both squealed, Nudge clinging to my arm and Angel crawling up onto Max's lap (and Ella's legs). Gazzy just sat there, still staring at the TV.

"Is everyone okay?" Dr. Martinez called, entering the room with a few flashlights. Positive answers filled the room and Dr. M handed flashlights to me, Angel, Ella and Gazzy, keeping one for herself. "I'm going to get some candles, I don't think the electricity will be back for a while."

"What do we do now?" Gazzy asked, looking up at Max.

"I know!" Ella exclaimed. "I've been working on something for class, you all could watch it and tell me how I did." Ella rolled off of our laps and ran to her room, a few minutes later she returned with her laptop and sat down at the coffee table, waving us over.

We all crowded around the laptop as Ella opened a file. The screen turned black, then the words 'My Family' appeared in dark purple letters.

"We had to make a video to... describe our family, in a way," Ella explained, clicking the play button.

What looked to be a home movie began playing, but I don't remember it being made at all.

"My family is… unique," Ella's voice came from the laptop. "And large. It used to just be me and my mom, Dr. Valencia Martinez. But almost overnight, we grew. If I told you the complete story behind my family, you'd never believe me, but let's just say my mom took in a few kids that needed a home. Including, Nudge," – the camera zoomed in on Nudge, who was sitting at the kitchen table—" Angel" – it moved to Angel across from Nudge—"Gazzy, Iggy"—it moved to those two – "And Fang and Max." The camera moved across the room to Max and I, sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Explaining them is easier said then done…"

The video changed, and on the screen was the one thing I never wanted to see again in my life.

Me. Wearing make up. In a red dress. _With rhinestones down the side_. A song began playing as I danced along to it on screen.

Everyone around me began to laugh hysterically. I just sighed, hiding my face in my hands and muttered, "This video is going to haunt me forever, isn't it?"

Luckily, the video stopped a couple minutes later and switched through a few more home videos, some of us playing board games on "Family Game Night", some of us just being…well, odd. It showed pictures taken throughout our time with Max's family.

When it ended I heard sniffling coming from a couple of the girls, Max had her head on my shoulder, hiding her eyes. I chuckled and put an arm around her.

"I liked it…" Nudge said, wiping her eyes. "It was really good." Angel and Gasman nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, really good," Max muttered into my shoulder.

"You broke the un-breakable Maximum, it was great." I laughed. Ella beamed.

"Max, can we play a game?" Gazzy asked. "Like we used to do when it rained."

Max looked up at him, wiping her eyes and smiling. "Of course, Gazzy, what do you want to play?"

"One Word Story?" Ella suggested, smiling. I shook my head.

"No, no, no." I said. "Last time we played that I ended up being forced to make the most embarrassing video of my life."

"We could play charades," Nudge suggested.

"Oh, yeah! The lights went off in class one day and we played that until our parents came to pick us up." Ella said. "It's _so_ much more fun in the dark."

"Okay, let's play." Max stood up.

"Can I go first?" Angel asked. Everyone nodded and got comfortable on the couch as Angel stood in front of the TV. Once everyone was ready Angel began to act out her first word, which we all easily guessed as 'Finding Nemo'. Gazzy, who was the first to guess, went next.

We spent the next few hours playing charades, Dr. Martinez even joined us when she got all the candles lit. Even after the electricity was back, we shut all the lights off and kept playing until the little kids (and Iggy and Ella) had fallen asleep in the living room. Dr. Martinez threw blankets over everyone and turned to me and Max.

"I'm going on to bed, don't stay up much later," she placed a kiss on both of our cheeks before walking down the hall to her room.

Max turned to me, putting her arms around my neck. "Things have gotten quite…interesting since we came here, haven't they?"

I couldn't help but laugh, thinking back on everything. The games we played, getting forced into a makeover, freaking out our babysitter, Thanksgiving, spending Christmas and New Years with Max's relatives, Ari randomly reappearing and then disappearing again, getting drugged, the hospital, the odd dreams…

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, they have…"

Max smiled and pressed her lips against mine. "I'm gonna go to bed," she whispered, hugging me tightly. She let go of me and turned to go upstairs, and I followed, feeling pretty ready for bed myself.

As I fell asleep, I realized I almost feared what the future would bring… But then again, insanity had been pretty fun. Yeah, I was definitely looking forward to more rainy day games with the flock…

* * *

If you liked RDG, feel free to check out my other stories. :) I'm sure you'll like them, too. (They're just...more planned out and a bit less random than RDG.)

It's been great writing this for ya'll.

So, for the last time...

_**R&R?**_


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